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QuickStats: Rate* of Emergency Department Visits,† by Homeless Status§ — National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, United States, 2010–2021
Weekly / October 20, 2023 / 72(42);1153
* Visit rates are based on estimates of the U.S. population experiencing homelessness, reported by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, from data collected on a single night in January of each year during 2010–2021. The estimate for 2021 was adjusted for incompleteness. Visit rates for the population not experiencing homelessness are based on estimates of the U.S. civilian, noninstitutionalized population developed by the U.S. Census Bureau and reflect the population as of July 1 of each year during 2010–2021.
† Based on a sample of visits to emergency departments in noninstitutional general and short-stay hospitals, exclusive of federal, military, and Veterans Administration hospitals, located in U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
§ Persons experiencing homelessness are identified as having no home or living in a homeless shelter. Persons not experiencing homelessness are identified as having a private residence, living in a nursing home, or having some other living arrangement. Patient residence was missing for 3.0% of emergency department visits; these records were excluded from the analysis.
The rate of visits to hospital emergency departments by persons experiencing homelessness increased from an estimated 141 visits per 100 persons per year during 2010–2011 to 310 during 2020–2021. Rates increased during 2016–2017 compared with 2014–2015, and again during 2020–2021 compared with 2018–2019. Visit rates for persons not experiencing homelessness did not vary significantly across years, ranging from 42 visits per 100 persons per year during 2010–2011 to 40 during 2020–2021. Visit rates for persons experiencing homelessness were higher than rates for persons not experiencing homelessness in all years.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics, National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 2010–2021. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/ahcd/ ahcd_questionnaires.htm
Reported by: Susan M. Schappert, MA, sschappert@cdc.gov; Loredana Santo, MD.
Suggested citation for this article: QuickStats: Rate of Emergency Department Visits, by Homeless Status — National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, United States, 2010–2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2023;72:1153. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7242a6.
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