Why we run research
Being insured is not the same as getting care.
Most people we surveyed in Skid Row have health coverage. Most still cannot reliably see a doctor. That gap is why this program exists, and it shapes where we deploy.
Street medicine reaches people the clinic system does not. Our field surveys make that community's own account of care the basis for how services get designed, funded, and evaluated. Everything below is their data.
Field operation in Skid Row. Intake, screening, and wound care run from folding tables on the sidewalk.
Findings, Skid Row survey
What 75 residents told us.
Reported having health insurance. Of those, 74.6% were covered by Medi-Cal.
Still said accessing medical services is challenging. The leading reasons were transportation and problems with insurance.
Found street medicine helpful, with a further 13.0% saying sometimes helpful.
Said they were somewhat or very likely to use street medicine again. 75.8% said very likely.
Of those who received street medicine care had only ever received those services on the street.
Of those reporting distrust of doctors cited dismissal of symptoms or perceived discrimination.
What residents asked for
The requests are rarely only clinical.
Respondents could choose more than one service. Food and housing outrank every medical category, which is why our teams carry referrals as well as supplies.
This ranking is the most useful thing the survey produces for partner organizations. It shows a food bank, a housing provider, and a clinic exactly where they sit in the same person's list of needs.
HIV self-test distribution
Putting the test in someone's hand changes who gets tested.
HIV testing and counseling was the third most requested service in Skid Row. We ran an OraQuick self-test distribution alongside outreach to meet it.
115 people received kits between January and August 2024. Distribution reached an older population than street outreach usually records, with the largest group aged 40 to 49.
A self-test removes the appointment, the identification requirement, and the waiting room in a single step.
Survey administered on 4th Street. Interviews were conducted in person so that people who cannot read, write, or use a phone were not excluded.
Method
How the survey was run.
Participants were approached throughout Skid Row and gave oral consent. Inclusion required being 18 or older, able to consent, fluent in English or Spanish, and either unhoused or living in a Skid Row housing facility.
Surveys were conducted as interviews rather than forms, so people who cannot read, write, or use a phone were not excluded. Participation was voluntary, any question could be skipped, and no compensation was offered. No identifying information was collected.
Study parameters
- Participants
- 75
- Period
- October 2024 to February 2025
- Format
- Interview-administered, English and Spanish
- Consent
- Oral, voluntary, uncompensated
- Identifiers
- None collected
- Ethics
- Certified exempt from IRB review under 45 CFR 46.104 category 2 by the UCLA IRB, determined October 3, 2024
- Published
- February 2025
Publications
Read the work.
Understanding Healthcare Access and Experiences in Skid Row
21 pages covering demographics, healthcare access, requested services, healthcare experiences, and a call to action for street medicine leaders and policymakers.
OraQuick HIV Self-Test Distribution
Distribution data for 115 recipients across January to August 2024, including prior testing history and demographics.
Outreach team on site. Volunteers, nursing and medical students, and clinical staff deploy together.
For community organizations
Run this survey with your own community.
The instrument, the consent script, and the collection protocol are available to any community-based organization documenting healthcare access in the population it serves. Comparable questions across sites produce something none of us can produce alone.
The full instrument
Survey questions, the oral consent script, and the collection standard operating procedure used in Skid Row.
Comparable data
Keep the core questions intact so results compare across sites. Add your own questions after them.
Shared findings
Contributing organizations are named in the combined report and receive their own site results back.