ArticleBMC public health2026
Changes in access to basic needs among people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in Los Angeles County during and after the COVID-19 pandemic: a large-scale repeated cross-sectional survey.
Article in BMC public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPeople experiencing unsheltered homelessness (PEUH) face ongoing barriers to accessing basic resources, such as food, water, sanitation, and healthcare. While it is well-understood that the COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated pre-pandemic conditions, less is known about how conditions shifted once the pandemic subsided.
methodsWe employed a repeated cross-sectional, modified version of the HOUSED BEDS survey among a convenience sample of PEUH (N = 991) in the greater Los Angeles area between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2024 to assess access to basic resources for survival by people experiencing unsheltered homelessness during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Univariate and bivariate analyses were conducted.
resultsFollowing the pandemic, several significant differences in access to basic resources were observed between the during- and post-pandemic samples: food and water security decreased (Food: 70.8% during vs. 61.2% post, p = 0.002; Drinking water: 77.2% vs. 67.6%, p = 0.001), as did having health insurance (83.9% vs. 75.8%, p = 0.009). However, self-reported incidences of open defecation were also observed to be lower in the population surveyed following the pandemic (90.4% during vs. 81.4% post-pandemic, p < 0.001). Relatedly, a correlated increase in reported bathroom access (20.6% vs. 26.0%, p = 0.053) and decrease in primary care access (18.6% vs. 14.8%, p = 0.2) were observed. Outreach services were provided to few respondents throughout (34.5%); however, rates of physical health outreach were found to be lower in the post-pandemic group (10.5% vs. 6.7%, p = 0.032) despite all other forms of outreach experiencing little change over this same time period.
conclusionThese findings highlight the importance of continuing to support PEUH even after the pandemic has subsided. Implementing more long-term, institutionalized policy and infrastructure is essential for supporting this population during and after public health emergencies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.