Oregon researchers to examine how homelessness impacts long-term health

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — University of Oregon researchers are examining unsheltered residents in Lane County to determine which health effects are associated with homelessness.

The study is backed by the National Science Foundation, which provided UO with a $359,999 grant to collect data from people living on the street, in homeless camps, temporary housing shelters, and more permanent shelters.

Jo Weaver, the associate professor spearheading the study, said it’s commonly known that houseless people experience long-term health complications — but not much research has been done to discover what specifically leads to those complications. Researchers believe that chronic stress could be one cause.

“When people are in a heightened state of stress, digestion is slowed, heart rate and blood pressure change,” Weaver explained in a statement.

The research team will use “minimally-invasive biomarkers” like hair and blood samples to determine stress levels, and to uncover chronic health conditions including diabetes, anemia and high cholesterol.

Researchers will also conduct a survey in which participants can share more about their experiences with homelessness, and how they cope with the stress related to it.

According to UO, the study will help people understand how homelessness impacts smaller communities — rather than major cities such as Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles that have been the focus of pre-existing research.

The university cited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s point-in-time estimates, which revealed there were 2,824 people without homes in the Eugene and Springfield areas. Seventy-four percent of that population was unsheltered.

The federal agency also found that the state of Oregon had the nation’s second-highest rate of unsheltered homeless people.

“The study is the first step of what researchers hope will be a longer project,” UO’s Henry Houston wrote. “Since acute health issues are common in homeless populations, researchers plan to apply for future funding to understand some of the more important stressors to effectively address health issues.”