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EXAMINING HEALTHCARE UTILIZATION AMONG HOMELESS WOMEN: THE ROLES OF CHRONIC ILLNESS, PTSD RELATED SYMPTOMS, AND SOCIAL SUPPORT
Title
EXAMINING HEALTHCARE UTILIZATION AMONG HOMELESS WOMEN: THE ROLES OF CHRONIC ILLNESS, PTSD RELATED SYMPTOMS, AND SOCIAL SUPPORT
Creator
Osborn, Amanda
Date
2016, 2016-07
Description
Homeless women face many psychological and physical challenges to their health, but they often report underutilizing needed healthcare...
Show moreHomeless women face many psychological and physical challenges to their health, but they often report underutilizing needed healthcare services. This trend in healthcare utilization often leads to further health decline. Research has shown that chronic illness, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related symptoms, and social support is associated with differential patterns in healthcare utilization. This study examined how healthcare utilization patterns of homeless women (N=317) related to these factors. The study tested six hypotheses. The first and second hypotheses predicted that increases in PTSD related symptoms and number of chronic health conditions would be associated with increases in healthcare utilization. The third hypothesis predicted that perceived support from friends would moderate the relation between PTSD related symptoms and healthcare utilization. The fourth hypothesis predicted that perceived familial support would not significantly moderate the relation between PTSD related symptoms and healthcare utilization. The fifth hypothesis predicted that perceived support from friends would also moderate the relation between number of chronic health conditions and healthcare utilization. The sixth hypothesis predicted that perceived familial support would not significantly moderate the relation between number of chronic health conditions and healthcare utilization. Results show the only significant predictor of healthcare utilization was the number of chronic health conditions, such that for each additional diagnosis there was a 17% increase in accessing healthcare utilization. Clinical implications, strengths, limitations, and future research are discussed.
M.S. in Psychology, July 2016
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Eating disorder support group utilization: Associations with psychological health and eating disorder psychopathology among support group attendees
Title
Eating disorder support group utilization: Associations with psychological health and eating disorder psychopathology among support group attendees
Creator
Murray, Matthew F.
Date
2023
Description
Individuals with eating disorders (EDs) report psychosocial impairments that may persist beyond ED symptom remission, suggesting a need to...
Show moreIndividuals with eating disorders (EDs) report psychosocial impairments that may persist beyond ED symptom remission, suggesting a need to examine ED treatment-adjunctive services that foster psychosocial health. One promising resource is support groups, as evidence across medical and psychiatric illnesses shows associations between group utilization and wellbeing. However, virtually no literature has examined ED-specific support groups and psychosocial health, and it is also unknown how use of supportive services relates to ED symptoms. The present study examined associations between past-month ED support group attendance and participation frequency, psychosocial health indices, and ED symptoms. A total of 215 participants who attended weekly virtual clinician-moderated ED support groups completed measures of psychosocial health, internalized stigma of mental illness, psychosocial impairment from an ED, specific types of social support elicited in group, and ED psychopathology. Adjusting for past-month ED treatment, Benjamini-Hochberg-corrected partial correlation analyses indicated that more frequent attendance was negatively related to body dissatisfaction, purging, excessive exercise, and negative attitudes toward obesity, and positively related to social support. More frequent verbal and chat participation were positively related to emotional and informational support and social companionship. Chat participation was additionally negatively related to excessive exercise and negative attitudes toward obesity. Results suggest that utilizing and participating in clinician-moderated ED support groups could provide an outlet for ED symptom management and solicitation of social support. Findings highlight areas for further consideration in the delivery of and future research on ED support groups.
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