Involuntary displacement and self-reported health in a cross-sectional survey of people experiencing homelessness in Denver, Colorado, 2018–2019

The number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in the U.S. is increasing. Municipalities have responded with punitive responses such as involuntary displacement (i.e., encampment sweeps, move along orders), but little is known about the impact of involuntary displacement on health. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between broadly defined experiences of involuntary displacement and self-reported health conditions among people experiencing homelessness. We used logistic regression models to generate odds ratios using publicly available data from a cross-sectional sample of people experiencing homelessness in Denver, Colorado, during September 2018-February 2019. Hosmer-Lemeshow Goodness of Fit tests were used to assess model fit. Among 397 people experiencing homelessness, involuntary displacement was significantly associated with self-reported infectious diseases (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 2.09, 95