Organizational and patient factors associated with positive primary care experiences for veterans with current or recent homelessness.

Objective: To identify organizational service features associated with positive patient ratings of primary care within primary care clinics tailored to accommodate persons with ongoing and recent experiences of homelessness (PEH).

Data sources and study setting: PEH receiving primary care in 29 United States Veterans Health Administration homeless-tailored clinics were surveyed about their primary care experience using the validated Primary Care Quality-Homeless (PCQ-H) survey. Characteristics of the clinics were assessed through surveys of clinic staff using a new organizational survey developed through literature review, site visits, statistical analysis, and consensus deliberation.

Study design: Cross-sectional examination of patients' ratings of care based on surveys of patients, and of clinic characteristics, analyzed with Classification and Regression Tree (CART) analysis, a form of machine learning.

Data collection methods: Patient surveys (n = 3394) were obtained from a random sample of enrolled patients by both mail and telephone by an external survey contractor. Staff (n = 52 from 29 clinics) were interviewed by telephone.

Principal findings: This analysis identified service features that impact patient experience favorably, including aspects of patient-centeredness, team identity, strong external leadership support, and service that reach beyond traditional primary care clinic confines. Results varied according to the patient experience scale analyzed. Individual characteristics of PEH, such as degree of social support, general health, and unsheltered status, were also correlated with how they rate care.

Conclusions: Organizational characteristics correlate with ratings of primary care from patients with recent and ongoing homelessness. Primary care programs serving homeless individuals can assure better care based on who they hire, how they foster team identity, what services they provide, and the strength of leadership support to protect a homeless-focused mission.