Coordinating housing, health and LTSS through home-based care management
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Series Title(s):
- LTSS choices
- Author(s):
- Benedict-Nelson, Andrew, author Hervada, Ana, author Polansky, Patricia, (Of AARP Public Policy Institute), author Amero, Carrie Blakeway, author
- Contributor(s):
- AARP (Organization), issuing body. Public Policy Institute (AARP (Organization)), issuing body.
- Publication:
- [Washington, D.C.] : AARP Public Policy Institute, September 2022
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Community Health Services Community Support Home Care Services Housing Long-Term Care Patient Care Management United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- The issues facing people who need long-term services and supports (LTSS) cannot be solved without considering new approaches to the issue of housing. Housing forms one of the four pillars in the LTSS Choices framework. It is a basic need that all people have--that is, a place to live. Yet despite all the other challenges that people with LTSS needs face, housing is often one of the biggest. Beyond merely having a place to live, it is intimately connected to the LTSS choices that are available to them. People who need LTSS must have choice when it comes to where they live. The availability, accessibility, and affordability of housing therefore becomes a driving force that shapes the LTSS landscape. It is connected to every other pillar (and challenge) in the long-term services and supports system: workforce, community integration, and services and supports. Housing is also one of the most important social determinants of health. Some of the most influential studies of inequality in health have revealed life-expectancy differences of more than a decade between different neighborhoods in the same city; these differences are almost always an extension of the quality of the built environment. The design of a neighborhood can affect so many aspects of residents’ everyday life, such as mobility for people with disabilities, the availability of clean drinking water, opportunities to buy healthy food, the ability to exercise, and more. All these factors can lead to life-long disparities in health and greater need for health care and long-term services and supports. Further, there is a national shortage of housing that is affordable to those with lower incomes, including many with LTSS needs. As a result, the combined costs of housing and services can become a major challenge. Lack of safe, affordable, and accessible housing is a major problem, but there is another, more positive way to think about housing and health: Housing infrastructure can be used to address some of the most intractable challenges in our services system. Housing can be part of the solution, not just a part of the problem. In fact, many health care providers and LTSS programs and providers alike are working to strengthen their relationships with housing programs and systems. There are many ways stakeholders working together across these arenas might help address inequality in housing. This paper describes one model called Support and Services at Home (SASH), which is a housing-based care management (HBCM) program. HBCM programs activate housing providers as new nodes for prevention, primary care, long-term supports and services, and community outreach. By focusing on housing as a platform for LTSS system transformation, HBCM models work to address some of the most persistent problems and inequalities older adults and people with disabilities face. Furthermore, this approach to empowering residents and communities helps individuals take charge of their own health and realize their goals for independent, community living. It is part of a larger movement toward reforming the health care system to make it less episodic, more person-centered and more accountable.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY-NC-ND license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (12 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 9918557488906676 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918557488906676