What We (Don't) Know about the Infectious Disease Burden Among Youth Experiencing Homelessness in the United States and Canada.

Youth experiencing homelessness (YEH) and sexual and gender minority (SGM) YEH may be at increased risk for infectious diseases due to living arrangements, risk behaviors, and barriers to healthcare access that are dissimilar to those of housed youth and older adults experiencing homelessness. To better understand infectious diseases among YEH populations, we synthesized findings from 12 peer-reviewed articles published between 2012 to 2020 which enumerated YEH or SGM YEH infectious disease burden in locations across the U.S. or Canada. Pathogens presented in the studies were limited to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and bloodborne infections (BBI). Only three studies enumerated infectious diseases among SGM YEH. There was a dearth of comparison data by housing status (ex., sheltered versus unsheltered youth), SGM identity, or other relevant counterfactual groups in the identified studies. We also introduce three publicly available, national-level surveillance datasets from the U.S. or Canada that quantify certain STIs, BBIs, and tuberculosis among YEH, which may be used for future disease burden assessments. Our review calls for more comprehensive YEH-centered research that includes multimodal data collection and timely disease surveillance to improve estimates of infectious diseases among this vulnerable population.

The bidirectional association between psychiatric disorders and sheltered homelessness.

BACKGROUND: Psychiatric disorders and homelessness are related, but temporal associations are unclear. We aimed to explore the overlap between hospital-based psychiatric disorders and sheltered homelessness. METHODS: This population-based cohort study was conducted using the Danish registers e.g., the Danish Homeless Register and the Danish National Patient Register. The study cohort included all individuals aged 15 years or older, living in Denmark at least one day during 2002-2021 (born 1984-2006). First psychiatric diagnosis was used to define psychiatric disorder and first homeless shelter contact to define homelessness. Adjusted incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and cumulative incidences were estimated. RESULTS: Among 1 530 325 individuals accounting for 16 787 562 person-years at risk aged 15-38 years, 11 433 (0.8%) had at least one homeless shelter contact. Among 1 406 410 individuals accounting for 14 131 060 person-years at risk, 210 730 had at least one psychiatric disorder. People with any psychiatric disorder had increased risk of sheltered homelessness relative to individuals with no psychiatric disorder [IRR 9.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 8.8-9.6]. Ten years after first psychiatric disorder, 3.0% (95% CI 2.9-3.1) had at least one homeless shelter contact. Individuals experiencing homelessness had increased risk of any psychiatric disorder compared to individuals with no homeless shelter contact (IRR 7.0, 95% CI 6.7-7.4). Ten years after first homeless shelter contact, 47.1% (45.3-48.0) had received a hospital-based psychiatric diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Strong bidirectional associations between psychiatric disorders and homelessness were identified. Health and social care professionals should be aware of and address these high risks of accumulated psychiatric and social problems.

Mental health in society's margins: poor n-3 PUFA intake and psychological well-being of homeless youth.

Dietary intake of long-chain n-3 PUFA (n-3 PUFA), particularly EPA and DHA, has been associated with psychological well-being, but little is known about the n-3 PUFA intake of homeless youth. The current study determined the association between depression and anxiety symptoms and n-3 PUFA intake and erythrocytes status in homeless youth. Totally, 114 homeless youth aged 18-24 years were recruited from a drop-in centre. n-3 PUFA dietary intake was assessed using an FFQ, and erythrocytes status was determined by gas chromatography (GC). Linear regression models were used to determine the relationship between psychological well-being and n-3 PUFA intake and status. The mean intakes of EPA and DHA for all participants (0·06 ± 0·13 g/d and 0·11 ± 0·24 g/d) were well below recommended levels, and mean erythrocytes EPA + DHA (n-3 index) in the cohort (2·42 %) was lower than reported for healthy, housed adolescents and those with clinical depression. There was no association of n-3 PUFA intake and erythrocytes status with either depression or anxiety. However, the relationships of depression with dietary EPA (P = 0·017) and DHA (P = 0·008), as well as erythrocytes DHA (P = 0·007) and n 3-index (P = 0·009), were significantly moderated by sex even after adjusting for confounders. Specifically, among females, as the intake and status of these n-3 PUFA decreased, depression increased. Our findings show poor dietary intake and low erythrocytes status of n-3 PUFA among homeless youth, which is associated with depressive symptoms among females.

The global prevalence of mental health disorders among runaway and homeless youth: A meta-analysis.

A meta-analysis was performed to identify the pooled prevalence of mental health disorders (MHDs) among runaway and homeless youth (RHY). Relevant studies published between December 1, 1985, and October 1, 2023, were identified in the PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases. A preliminary screening of 11,266 papers resulted in the inclusion of 101 studies. The pooled-prevalence estimates were obtained using a random-effects model. The findings showed varying lifetime prevalence rates of MHDs: 47% (conduct disorders and psychological distress), 43% (depression), 34% (major depressive disorders), 33% (post-traumatic stress disorder), 27% (personality disorders), 25% (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder), 23% (bipolar disorders), 22% (anxiety), 21% (oppositional defiant disorders), 15% (anorexia), 15% (adjustment disorders), 14% (dysthymia), 11% (schizophrenia), 9% (obsessive-compulsive disorders), and 8% (gambling disorder). The current prevalence rates were: 31% (depression), 23% (major depressive disorder), 23% (anxiety), 21% (post-traumatic stress disorder), 16% (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder), 15% (bipolar disorder), 13% (personality disorders), 13% (oppositional defiant disorders), 8% (schizophrenia), and 6% (obsessive-compulsive disorders). Regular screening and the implementation of evidence-based treatments and the promotion of integration and coordination between mental health services for adolescent minors and young adults with other service systems are recommended.

The Global Prevalence of Non-suicidal Self-injury, Suicide Behaviors, and Associated Risk Factors Among Runaway and Homeless Youth: A Meta-analysis.

A meta-analysis was performed to determine pooled prevalence of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), suicide behaviors (including ideation, attempts), and associated risk factors among runaway and homeless youth (RHY). The databases PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were searched for relevant studies published from January 1995 to May 2023. Initially, 8465 papers were screened, resulting in 69 included studies. The results showed that among RHY, lifetime prevalence rates were 42% for NSSI, 38% for suicidal ideation, and 27% for suicide attempts. Lifetime prevalence of NSSI and suicide behaviors was higher among adolescent minors (aged 12-17 years) compared to young adults (aged 18-24 years). Also, NSSI and suicide behaviors were associated with having a childhood history of physical and sexual abuse. Developing an impactful community-based suicide prevention campaign tailored for RHY appears warranted. Peer groups and mentorship programs would provide invaluable support for young individuals, as supportive friendships protect against NSSI.

Heterogeneous trajectories of suicidal ideation among homeless youth: predictors and suicide-related outcomes.

The current study examined heterogeneous trajectories of suicidal ideation among homeless youth experiencing suicidal ideation over 9 months in a randomized controlled intervention study. Suicidal homeless youth (N = 150) were randomly assigned to Cognitive Therapy for Suicide Prevention (CTSP) + Treatment as Usual (TAU) or TAU alone. Youth reported their suicidal ideation four times during a 9-month period. We also assessed pretreatment mental health, demographic information and session attendance as predictors of the subgroups, as well as suicide-related factors as outcomes at the 9-month follow-up. Growth mixture models suggested three distinct trajectory groups among youth: Fast Declining (74.7%), Chronic (19.3%), and Steadily Declining (6.0%). Youth in the Chronic group used more substances at baseline than the Steadily Declining group, were more likely to be White, non-Hispanic than the Fast Declining group, and attended more CTSP sessions than other groups. Contrastingly, youth in the Steadily Declining group all experienced childhood abuse. Finally, youth in the Chronic group showed significant higher risk for future suicide compared to those in the Fast Declining group at 9 months. Findings support the heterogeneity of treatment responses in suicide intervention among homeless youth, with implications to improve treatment efforts in this very high-risk population.

Enabling Adherence to Treatment (EAT): a pilot study of a combination intervention to improve HIV treatment outcomes among street-connected individuals in western Kenya.

BACKGROUND: Street-connected individuals (SCI) in Kenya experience barriers to accessing HIV care. This pilot study provides proof-of-concept for Enabling Adherence to Treatment (EAT), a combination intervention providing modified directly observed therapy (mDOT), daily meals, and peer navigation services to SCI living with HIV or requiring therapy for other conditions (e.g. tuberculosis). The goal of the EAT intervention was to improve engagement in HIV care and viral suppression among SCI living with HIV in an urban setting in Kenya. METHODS: This pilot study used a single group, pre/post-test design, and enrolled a convenience sample of self-identified SCI of any age. Participants were able to access free hot meals, peer navigation services, and mDOT 6 days per week. We carried out descriptive statistics to characterize participants' engagement in EAT and HIV treatment outcomes. We used McNemar's chi-square test to calculate unadjusted differences in HIV outcomes pre- and post-intervention among participants enrolled in HIV care prior to EAT. We compared unadjusted time to initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and first episode of viral load (VL) suppression among participants enrolled in HIV care prior to EAT vs. concurrently with EAT using the Wilcoxon rank sum test. Statistical significance was defined as p < 0.05. We calculated total, fixed, and variable costs of the intervention. RESULTS: Between July 2018 and February 2020, EAT enrolled 87 participants: 46 (53%) female and 75 (86%) living with HIV. At baseline, 60 out of 75 participants living with HIV (80%) had previously enrolled in HIV care. Out of 60, 56 (93%) had initiated ART, 44 (73%) were active in care, and 25 (42%) were virally suppressed (VL < 1000 copies/mL) at their last VL measure in the 19 months before EAT. After 19 months of follow-up, all 75 participants living with HIV had enrolled in HIV care and initiated ART, 65 (87%) were active in care, and 44 (59%) were virally suppressed at their last VL measure. Among the participants who were enrolled in HIV care before EAT, there was a significant increase in the proportion who were active in HIV care and virally suppressed at their last VL measure during EAT enrollment compared to before EAT enrollment. Participants who enrolled in HIV care concurrently with EAT had a significantly shorter time to initiation of ART and first episode of viral suppression compared to participants who enrolled in HIV care prior to EAT. The total cost of the intervention over 19 months was USD $57,448.64. Fixed costs were USD $3623.04 and variable costs were USD $63.75/month/participant. CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study provided proof of concept that EAT, a combination intervention providing mDOT, food, and peer navigation services, was feasible to implement and may support engagement in HIV care and achievement of viral suppression among SCI living with HIV in an urban setting in Kenya. Future work should focus on controlled trials of EAT, assessments of feasibility in other contexts, and cost-effectiveness studies.

Application of the ecobiodevelopmental model for research among youth experiencing homelessness.

Youth experiencing homelessness (YEH) often face increased levels of adversity and higher rates of trauma, suicide, and mortality compared to their housed peers. A multi-level life course lens is proposed by applying the ecobiodevelopmental model to examine social support mechanisms as a buffer to psychopathologies following adversity within YEH. Further discussion contributes to the theoretical basis for future public health research and intervention work addressing youth homelessness and related adversities.

[Associations of mental illness and homelessness: results of a secondary data analysis at a Berlin health center for the homeless]. / Zusammenhänge zwischen psychischen Erkrankungen und Wohnungslosigkeit: Ergebnisse einer Sekundärdatenanalyse in einem Berliner Gesundheitszentrum für Obdachlose.

BACKGROUND: Homelessness is an expression and consequence of a complex problem situation that poses major challenges to the medical and social care systems in Germany. About three quarters of homeless people suffer from mental illness. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between mental illness and homelessness. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A secondary data analysis of patients' records from a Berlin health center for homeless people was conducted. Data from 112 homeless patients who received care at the center between the years 2006 and 2020 were included in the explorative study. RESULTS: Mental illness was present in 84.9% of patients before the onset of homelessness. The factors associated with an early onset of homelessness were low school education and drug abuse. A long duration of homelessness was associated with the factors alcohol abuse as well as imprisonment. Each new episode of street homelessness was associated with an average increase in the duration of homelessness by 7.9 months. DISCUSSION: Since mental illnesses are important factors influencing the development and maintenance of homelessness, preventive strategies as well as specialized services for this vulnerable group need to be increasingly created. In particular, recurring episodes of street homelessness should be prevented as far as possible. The link between imprisonment and homelessness suggests that more intensive support is needed for reintegration after release from prison.

The Second National Canadian Homeless Youth Survey: Mental Health and Addiction Findings: La Deuxième Enquête Nationale Auprès des Jeunes Sans Abri : Résultats en Matière De Santé Mentale et de Toxicomanie.

OBJECTIVE: Youth experiencing homelessness represent a major social problem in Canada and, as demonstrated in the first national survey of this population conducted in 2015, are experiencing significant mental health challenges. The present study examines the findings of a second national survey completed in 2019. These findings afford the opportunity to examine the reliability of the findings of the first study with another large, representative sample and to attempt to articulate the unique characteristics of youth experiencing the greatest distress among this at-risk population. METHODS: This study analyzed the mental-health-related data from the 2019 Without a Home-National Youth Homelessness Survey that was administered through convenience sampling at 98 agencies serving homeless youth in 49 communities across Canada. The survey was cross-sectional and self-administered, assessing a range of demographic information, pre- and post-homelessness variables, and mental health indicators. Multinomial logistic regression and linear regression were implemented to evaluate associations with distress level. RESULTS: Survey data were obtained from 1,375 youth accessing Canadian homeless services in 9 provinces. Thirty-five percent reported at least 1 suicide attempt, and 33.1% reported a drug overdose requiring hospitalization. The findings of this survey replicated most of the key findings from the 2015 survey. The current findings emphasized, for this high-risk population, the heightened adversity faced by young women, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Two-Spirit (LGBTQ2S), and Indigenous subpopulations, as well as the centrality of violence exposure in determining risk and distress. Sexual violence, in particular, emerged as a key factor in the identification of youth experiencing the greatest distress with risk buffered by contact with family. CONCLUSIONS: These findings can inform prevention and intervention policies and services and reinforce the importance of attending to violence exposure and trauma as central to the mental health trajectories of youth who have experienced homelessness.

Risky Sexual Behavior Among Street Children, Adolescents, and Young People Living on the street in southern Brazil.

Although adolescents living on the street tend to have unprotected sex with many partners and substance abuse, little is known about this reality in Brazil. To estimate the prevalence and factors associated with risky sexual behavior among children and adolescents living on the street in Porto Alegre and Rio Grande. A cross-sectional study was carried out using the Respondent-Driven Sampling (RDS) sampling method to quickly and efficiently access populations of difficult access. Poisson regression with robust adjustment of variance was used in the multivariate analysis. The sample consisted of 231 participants aged 10-21 years. Most were male and aged 16- 21 years. More than half (66.7%) of the respondents did not have a school bond, and 64.5% did not live with the family. Half of the sample had been living on the street for at least four years, spending 15 h or more on the street. Most (86.6%) responded that they had already used illicit drugs in their lives, and unprotected sex prevalence was 61.9%. The variables independently associated with unprotected sex were years living on the street, hours spent on the street, having a steady partner, illicit drug use, and sexual intercourse without a condom under the influence of drugs. The high prevalence of unprotected sex points to the need for intervention policies for this population to prevent the main risk factors.

Capturing the heterogeneity of life on the streets: A person-centered analysis of street histories and social connections of youth.

INTRODUCTION: The heterogeneity of street-involved youth was examined using a person-centered approach. Youth were classified based on patterns of street involvement and the identified profiles compared to identify theoretically coherent and practically significant differences. METHODS: Participants were 111 street-involved youth aged 9 to 18 (M age = 14.15 years; 81.1% male, 91.1% non-white) from three Brazilian cities. Youth completed a life history interview and structured assessment. Latent class analysis was used to identify three profiles of youth based on reasons for going to the street and connections to major developmental contexts (street, family, institutions). Profile comparisons on psychosocial variables (e.g., age, life events) and adjustment indicators (e.g., drug use, life satisfaction) were conducted using multinomial logistic regression. RESULTS: The largest profile (48.6%) included youth drawn to the street by drug use or trafficking, who had moderate connections to street and family. Another group (40.5%) went to the street to escape family dysfunction, and the street represented their primary developmental context. These groups differed on some psychosocial indicators but had similar patterns of adjustment. The third group of youth (10.8%) had families with a history of street involvement and maintained strong ties to all three developmental contexts. These youth had generally better adjustment than their peers (e.g., less drug use, higher life satisfaction) but had higher levels of sexual risk related to the overrepresentation of girls. CONCLUSIONS: Street involvement is a multidetermined phenomenon that may expose young people to distinct conditions of vulnerability. Findings have implications for research, practice, and policy.

Youth Experiencing Homelessness with Suicidal Ideation: Understanding Risk Associated with Peer and Family Social Networks.

Suicide is the leading cause of death among youth experiencing homelessness, and these youth report high rates of suicide attempts. Research suggests that the interpersonal factors of perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness are proximal causes of suicide, but little is known about factors associated with these risks. The current study examined the relationship of social network characteristics, perceived social network support, and interpersonal risks for suicide among a sample of 150 youth experiencing homelessness who reported severe suicide ideation. Findings indicate that characteristics of the social network, including engagement in crime and alcohol use, interrupted the potentially protective effects of high perceived social network support for interpersonal risk factors of suicide. Findings imply that increasing perceived social network support as a protection against suicide will not be uniformly successful, and consideration of the social network characteristics is necessary. Future work needs to continue to uncover the complexity of modifiable intervention targets to prevent future suicide attempts among this high-risk group.

Motivation to quit cigarettes and alternative tobacco products: prevalence and correlates among youth experiencing homelessness.

Use of alternative tobacco products, as well as regular cigarettes, is widespread among unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness. However, little is known about their level of motivation for quitting use of these products, factors associated with motivation to quit, or how these might vary by type of tobacco product. Unaccompanied homeless youth were sampled from 25 street and service sites in Los Angeles County (N = 469). All participants were past month tobacco users who completed a survey on their tobacco-related behaviors and cognitions, including motivation to quit, as well as background characteristics. Among self-reported users of each product, motivation to quit in the next 30 days was highest for regular cigarettes (33%), followed by e-cigarettes/vaporizers (30%), little cigars/cigarillos (25%), cigars (20%), and natural cigarettes (20%). Between 33 and 49% of youth, depending on product, were not thinking about quitting at all. Correlates of lower motivation to quit differed somewhat by product type, with the most consistent being race, more frequent use, lower perceived riskiness of the product, and using the product because of its good taste or smell. Results from this study identify a set of psychosocial and behavioral factors, some that are common across tobacco products and others that are product-specific, that may be particularly important to address in efforts to reduce tobacco use among youth experiencing homelessness. Future regulations on the sale of flavored tobacco products may also serve to increase motivation to quit in this population.

Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Initiation and Completion among Youth Experiencing Homelessness in Seven U.S. Cities.

Little is known about human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination uptake among youth experiencing homelessness (YEH), who may be at higher risk for HPV than their housed counterparts. We examined the prevalence and associations of HPV vaccination initiation and completion among YEH. Guided by the Behavioral Model for Vulnerable Populations, we analyzed cross-sectional data collected from YEH (N = 1074; ages 18-26) in seven U.S. cities to assess HPV vaccination prevalence and to identify predisposing, enabling, and need factors associated with HPV vaccination status. Due to timing differences in the release of HPV vaccine recommendations, we conducted separate logistic regression analyses for men (n = 673) and women (n = 401). Approximately 19% of men and 37% of women had initiated and completed HPV vaccination. Several factors among men (i.e., older age, Latinx ethnicity, San Jose or St. Louis residence compared with New York City, never having had sex, and not previously being tested for STIs) and women (i.e., lower education level, San Jose or Houston residence compared with New York City, and never having had sex) were associated with lower odds of HPV vaccination initiation, completion, or both. Gay men had higher odds of initiating and completing the vaccination series than their heterosexual counterparts. Our findings reveal that HPV vaccination uptake is low among YEH and that there are vaccination disparities among subgroups of YEH. HPV vaccination strategies and resources that are easy-to-understand, facilitate point-of-care services, and address societal and system-level vaccination barriers encountered by YEH are needed.

A comparison of frequency of alcohol and marijuana use using short message service surveying and survey questionnaires among homeless youth.

BACKGROUND: There are several benefits to using short message service surveying (SMS) to gather data on substance use from homeless youth, including capturing data "in the moment" and verifying the timing of one behavior relative to another. Though SMS is a valuable data collection tool with highly mobile populations that otherwise are difficult to longitudinally sample, the reliability of SMS compared with surveys is largely unknown with homeless youth. Examining the reliability of SMS is important because these data can provide a more nuanced understanding of the relationships between various risk behaviors, which may lead to better intervention strategies with these youth. OBJECTIVES: We compared past 30-day survey and SMS data for youth's alcohol and marijuana use. METHODS: Interviewed 150 homeless youth (51% female) using surveys and SMS. RESULTS: Past 30-day survey and SMS data revealed moderately strong correlations for alcohol (rs  = .563) and marijuana (rs  = .564). Regression analysis revealed that independent variables were similarly associated with alcohol and marijuana use when comparing survey and SMS data with two exceptions: heterosexual youth reported less alcohol use in SMS data compared to survey data (ß = -.212; p < .05 vs. ß = -.006; p > .05, respectively) and youth whose parents had alcohol problems reported less marijuana use in survey data compared to SMS data (ß = -.277; p < .01 vs. ß = -.150; p > .05, respectively). CONCLUSION: Findings indicate SMS and surveys are both reliable methods of gathering data from homeless youth on substance use.

Community-based oral health interventions for people experiencing homelessness: a scoping review.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the characteristics of community-based oral health interventions for people experiencing homelessness. BASIC RESEARCH DESIGN: A scoping review was conducted, adhering to the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: Scoping Reviews) checklist. A search strategy was developed using MeSH terms and key words, and used to search the following electronic databases: Medline/PubMed, CINAHL, ProQuest Assia, Scopus, Web of Science and PsychNet. Key journals and reference lists were also hand-searched. Two reviewers then read the abstracts of all papers, excluding duplicates and papers that did not meet the eligibility criteria. The reviewers then read to full-texts of the studies to be included in the review. RESULTS: Eighteen studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the study. These studies were predominantly evaluations of community-based dental services or other oral health interventions. Several recommendations were extracted. Interventions should involve co-design with homeless service users; multidisciplinary working, collaboration with dental practitioners, and working with educational establishments. The location of community-based services was also found to be of importance. CONCLUSION: This review has highlighted several recommendations, as well as gaps in the literature. These gaps suggest a need for more non-clinical oral health interventions for the homeless population, and a closer look at the role that non-dental practitioners can play in the delivery of oral health care.

A Promising Route Towards Improvement of Homeless Young People's Access to Mental Health Services: The Creation and Evolution of an Outreach Service Network in Montréal.

Youth homelessness is a complex phenomenon as well as an important public health issue often compounded by mental illness of varying severity, in turn creating numerous deleterious consequences. While emergency health services usage remains high, access to mental health services is arduous and conventional interventions often fall short on providing integrated care and seldom lead to sustained positive outcomes for this group. From this observation, clinicians in Montreal, Canada, initiated collaborative meetings, eventually attended by a growing number of institutional and community stakeholders working with homeless youth. Acknowledging the unique needs of this population, the Réseau d'intervention de proximité auprès des Jeunes de la Rue (RIPAJ) or Montreal Homeless Youth Network was created to engage and seamlessly connect youth with the right resources within the network including mental health services amongst others. The genesis, philosophy and unique features of RIPAJ that allow for effective and cohesive interventions as well as future directions are discussed.

Association between water, sanitation, general hygiene and oral hygiene practices of street-involved young people in Southwest Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Oral hygiene practices can be linked to personal hygiene practices, including access to water and other sanitation facilities. The objective of the study was to determine if there is an association between oral hygiene practices and water and sanitation hygiene (WASH) practices among street-involved young people (SIYP). METHODS: A cross-sectional study recruited SIYP age 10-24 years in two States in Nigeria recruited through respondent-driven sampling in December 2018. Interviewer-administered questionnaires were used to collect data on water access, sanitation, personal and oral hygiene. The instruments used for collecting the data were standardized tools for measuring the phenomena studied. The association between knowledge and practice of oral hygiene; oral hygiene and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH); and indicators of good oral hygiene were determined using binary logistic regression guided by two models. RESULTS: A total of 845 study participants were recruited. The proportion of SIYP with good knowledge of oral hygiene was low (31.2%), and fewer had good oral hygiene practice (8.9%). There were significant associations between knowledge and practice of tooth cleaning, use of fluoride-containing toothpaste, dental flossing, consumption of sugar between meals, and frequency of dental check-ups (p < 0.001 respectively). Respondents with good water collection and storage practices (AOR: 2.01; 95% CI: 1.24-3.24; P = 0.005) and those residing in Lagos (AOR: 2.85; 95% CI: 1.61-5.06; P = 0.001) had a higher likelihood of having good oral hygiene. CONCLUSION: Good oral hygiene practices of SIYP in Nigeria is associated with access to water collection and storage. WASH programs can have an impact on health through improved oral hygiene practices.

Short Message Service Surveying With Homeless Youth: Findings From a 30-Day Study of Sleeping Arrangements and Well-Being.

Little is known about the location and consistency of sleeping arrangements among youth experiencing homelessness (YEH) and how this is linked to their well-being. This study addresses this gap using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) via short message service (SMS) surveying with 150 YEH over 30 days, to examine how various sleeping arrangements are associated with depression, marijuana use, support received, and service utilization. Results revealed that the average number of consecutive days youth stayed at any particular location varied considerably. Youth who stayed more frequently with a friend/partner or in a transitional living facility (TLF) reported fewer days of being depressed, whereas staying with a friend/ partner was associated with using marijuana more frequently. Finally, youth staying with a friend/partner, stranger, or TLF reported using services on fewer days. Because sleeping arrangements change almost daily, on average, this has important public health implications for agencies finding permanent housing for YEH.