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Foster M, Fix GM, Hyde J, Dunlap S, Byrne TH, Sugie NF, Kuhn R, Gabrielian S, Roncarati JS, Zhao S, McInnes DK. Capturing the Dynamics of Homelessness Through Ethnography and Mobile Technology: Protocol for the Development and Testing of a Smartphone Technology-Supported Intervention. JMIR Res Protoc 2024; 13:e53022. [PMID: 38648101 DOI: 10.2196/53022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND US military veterans who have experienced homelessness often have high rates of housing transition. Disruptions caused by these transitions likely exacerbate this population's health problems and interfere with access to care and treatment engagement. Individuals experiencing homelessness increasingly use smartphones, contributing to improved access to medical and social services. Few studies have used smartphones as a data collection tool to systematically collect information about the daily life events that precede and contribute to housing transitions, in-the-moment emotions, behaviors, geographic movements, and perceived social support. OBJECTIVE The study aims to develop and test a smartphone app to collect longitudinal data from veterans experiencing homelessness (VEH) and to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of using the app in a population that is unstably housed or homeless. METHODS This study's design had 3 phases. Phase 1 used ethnographic methods to capture detailed data on day-to-day lived experiences of up to 30 VEH on topics such as housing stability, health, and health behaviors. Phase 2 involved focus groups and usability testing to develop and refine mobile phone data collection methods. Phase 3 piloted the smartphone mobile data collection with 30 VEH. We included mobile ethnography, real-time surveys through an app, and the collection of GPS data in phase 3. RESULTS The project was launched in June 2020, and at this point, some data collection and analysis for phases 1 and 2 are complete. This project is currently in progress. CONCLUSIONS This multiphase study will provide rich data on the context and immediate events leading to housing transitions among VEH. This study will ensure the development of a smartphone app that will match the actual needs of VEH by involving them in the design process from the beginning. Finally, this study will offer important insights into how best to develop a smartphone app that can help intervene among VEH to reduce housing transitions. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/53022.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marva Foster
- Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of General Internal Medicine, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Gemmae M Fix
- Department of General Internal Medicine, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
- Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research, VA Bedford Healthcare System, Bedford, MA, United States
| | - Justeen Hyde
- Department of General Internal Medicine, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
- Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research, VA Bedford Healthcare System, Bedford, MA, United States
| | - Shawn Dunlap
- Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research, VA Bedford Healthcare System, Bedford, MA, United States
| | - Thomas H Byrne
- Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research, VA Bedford Healthcare System, Bedford, MA, United States
- Department of Social Welfare Policy, Boston University School of Social Work, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Naomi F Sugie
- Department of Criminology, Law and Society, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Randall Kuhn
- Department of Community Health Services, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Sonya Gabrielian
- Department of Mental Health, VA Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Jill S Roncarati
- Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research, VA Bedford Healthcare System, Bedford, MA, United States
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States
- Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Shibei Zhao
- Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research, VA Bedford Healthcare System, Bedford, MA, United States
| | - D Keith McInnes
- Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research, VA Bedford Healthcare System, Bedford, MA, United States
- Department of Health Law, Policy and Management, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States
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Sugie NF, Turney K, Reiter K, Tublitz R, Kaiser D, Goodsell R, Secrist E, Patil A, Jiménez M. Excess mortality in U.S. prisons during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sci Adv 2023; 9:eadj8104. [PMID: 38039371 PMCID: PMC10691764 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adj8104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/01/2023] [Indexed: 12/03/2023]
Abstract
U.S. prisons were especially susceptible to COVID-19 infection and death; however, data limitations have precluded a national accounting of prison mortality (including but not limited to COVID-19 mortality) during the pandemic. Our analysis of mortality data collected from public records requests (supplemented with publicly available data) from 48 Departments of Corrections provides the most comprehensive understanding to date of in-custody mortality during 2020. We find that total mortality increased by 77% in 2020 relative to 2019, corresponding to 3.4 times the mortality increase in the general population, and that mortality in prisons increased across all age groups (49 and under, 50 to 64, and 65 and older). COVID-19 was the primary driver for increases in mortality due to natural causes; some states also experienced substantial increases due to unnatural causes. These findings provide critical information about the pandemic's toll on some of the country's most vulnerable individuals while underscoring the need for data transparency and standardized reporting in carceral settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naomi F. Sugie
- Department of Criminology, Law and Society, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Kristin Turney
- Department of Sociology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Keramet Reiter
- Department of Criminology, Law and Society, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Rebecca Tublitz
- Department of Criminology, Law and Society, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
- Institute for State and Local Governance, City University of New York, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Daniela Kaiser
- Department of Criminology, Law and Society, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Rebecca Goodsell
- Department of Sociology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Erin Secrist
- Department of Criminology, Law and Society, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Ankita Patil
- Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Monik Jiménez
- Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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Abstract
A wealth of scholarship generally finds that marriage protects against crime, but there is less consistent evidence for cohabitation. In this article, we contribute to scholarship on marriage and put forward new evidence about cohabitation by examining marital and cohabiting partnerships as transitions with distinct stages of entry, stability, and dissolution. We use within-person change models with contemporary data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 to analyze these stages for the full sample and separately for men and women. The findings show differential protective associations of marriage and cohabitation depending on the stage of the partnership. Both recently formed cohabiting partnerships and stable cohabiting partnerships are associated with reductions in the level of offending, although to a lesser degree than marital relationships. Cohabiting partnerships that are stable, in that they have lasted at least a year, are associated with larger decreases in offending, particularly among women.
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Abstract
The United States criminal justice and welfare systems are two important government institutions in the lives of the poor. Despite many theoretical discussions about their relationship, their operation at the level of offenders and families remains poorly understood. This paper utilizes Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing data to examine how recent paternal incarceration is associated with families' receipt of TANF, food stamps, and Medicaid/SCHIP. Results robust to multiple tests find that incarceration is not related to subsequent TANF receipt but is significantly associated with increased receipt of food stamps and Medicaid/SCHIP. The findings suggest that greater government involvement among poor families is an unexpected consequence of mass imprisonment; however, increased participation does not include TANF-the cash assistance program of most concern to theorists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naomi F Sugie
- Department of Sociology, Office of Population Research, Princeton University,
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