Homeless vulnerability during an opioid epidemic: Assessing the mortality risk among people experiencing homelessness in Southern California

Abstract

People experiencing homelessness suffer from a risk of mortality three to four times that of the general population, with drug-induced overdose replacing HIV as the emerging epidemic. This study assessed markers of mortality among people experiencing homelessness (N=157) in Orange County, CA during the Fall of 2016. We utilized the Vulnerability Index, an eight-question survey, to identify factors that may affect mortality risk among individuals experiencing homelessness and included two additional questions to identify potential risk of drug-induced overdose. Eighty-three percent of participants reported more than one heightened mortality risk marker and 64% may be at higher risk of drug-induced overdose. Given the state of the opioid epidemic, there is pressing need to couple public health interventions targeting people experiencing homelessness with harm reduction efforts including naloxone distribution (opioid-induced overdose reversal medication) and syringe exchange programs.