Housing Status and Overall Survival in People with Lung Cancer: Utilization of a Housing Insecurity Screening and Referring Program

Abstract: Social determinants of health (SDOH), including housing insecurity, have been linked to poorer lung cancer outcomes. We investigated the relationship between housing status and overall survival (OS) of people with lung cancer. Our study examined all patients with lung cancer evaluated at Boston Medical Center (BMC), a tertiary care academic medical center and New England’s largest safety-net hospital, between 2015 and 2021. Data was collected from electronic health records and THRIVE, a program that screens and refers for SDOH. We conducted univariable and multivariable survival analyses on 346 participants (housing-secure: n = 308; housing-insecure: n = 38). Results showed no statistically significant association between housing security and OS (HR 1.40, 95% C.I. 0.78–2.53, p = .27). While our findings suggest that standardized SDOH screening and referral programs may help reduce health disparities among housing-insecure people with lung cancer, prospective studies are needed to establish causality.