Simon P Kim, Chante Gamby, William E Trick, Keiki Hinami
We demonstrated that temporary housing and support facilitated cancer treatment, which is important as states adopt medical respite to address social needs.
INTRODUCTION: People experiencing homelessness (PEH) face significant risks of early cancer-related mortality due to barriers of care for complex treatments. We describe our pilot study for PEH with advanced cancer undergoing treatment at a large safety-net hospital system.
METHODS: We performed a retrospective case series of PEH with advanced cancer undergoing medical respite from 2020 to 2024. Descriptive statistics were used to describe patient characteristics and outcomes.
RESULTS: Nineteen patients participated in medical respite program while undergoing cancer treatment. Patients were referred from hospitals, clinics, and prisons; 74% were men and 67% under age 65. The most common primary cancers involved the lung, colon or rectum, and oropharynx-53% with known metastatic disease. All patients were able to complete cancer-related treatment with 42% achieving treatment response and transitioning to long-term housing.
CONCLUSION: We demonstrated that temporary housing and support facilitated cancer treatment, which is important as states adopt medical respite to address social needs.