Field-based programs that provide medical care to people experiencing homelessness can assist these patients to significantly improve their blood pressure, new UCLA research finds.
The researchers on the study, to be published June 25 in the peer-reviewed Journal of General Internal Medicine, were able to increase the number of these patients who gained control of their blood pressure by 10 percentage points—a statistically significant number.
"Our findings show that field-based homeless healthcare can improve management of high blood pressure, which is a major cause of death and disability among this population," said Dr. Sae Takada , assistant professor of medicine in the division of general internal medicine and health services research at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the study's lead author. "Prior to this study, we did not know whether homeless healthcare programs could improve management of chronic diseases."
The study was conducted in partnership with UCLA Homeless Healthcare Collaborative (HHC), which provides primary and urgent care, mental health services, housing and social services referrals at street encampments and other locations with populations of people experiencing homelessness.
The researchers examined electronic health records for nearly 900 people experiencing homelessness, age 18 years and older, who were assisted by the HHC team between January 2022 and November 2025.
Patients with hypertension were identified using three criteria. They were diagnosed with hypertension, were prescribed blood pressure medications, or had high blood pressure on two or more outpatient visits, defined as systolic pressure (pressure on the arteries when the heart pumps) of 140mmHG or more or diastolic pressure (pressure on the arteries when the heart rests between pumps) of 90mmHG or more.
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Here are the results:
- Average systolic blood pressure dropped from about 146mmHg at their first visit to 141mmHg at their most recent visit. The median time between the first and most recent visits was 8 months.
- Diastolic pressure dropped from about 87 mmHg to 85 mmHg
- Overall, the percentage of patients whose blood pressure was controlled rose from 35% at the beginning to 45%, a statistically significant increase amounting to nearly 100 more people.
The study has some limitations. The researchers lacked patient data from other healthcare systems and on any underlying cardiovascular disease the patients might have had. The researchers also did not have a comparison group to account for some trends, and also noted potential self-selection bias among HHC patients.
The next step in the research is to find similar people experiencing homelessness who had not been treated by the HHC team to compare with the HHC patients, Takada said. The researchers also need to examine the impact of HHC on the management of other chronic diseases such as diabetes.
But the evidence from this study suggests that field-based homeless healthcare can have a positive effect on the health of people experiencing homelessness, Takada said.
"Health systems across the US are investing in such programs with the goal to improve the health of their communities," she said. "Our study shows that these programs can make a clinically significant impact on the health of people experiencing homelessness."
Dr. Evan Michael Shannon, Madison Michelle Dawson, Un Young Rebecca Chung, Joshua Jaegun Lee, Dr. Catherine Weaver, Marjan Javanbakht co-authored the study.
UCLA Health funded the study.
