Virginia Via Research Day Book 2026

Medical Student Research Public Health

17 DEVELOPMENT OF FIELD-TESTED SURVEY FOR COMMUNITY-BASED INTERVENTION BY OSTEOPATHIC MEDICAL STUDENTS TO ASSISTANT TENANTS AND NON-PROFIT HOUSING ORGANIZATIONS IN ACCESSING HUD- FUNDED

Jenny Jung, OMS II, Nathan Heims, OMS II, Jackie Kronen, OMS II, Shannon Levine, OMS II, Angelica Joshi, OMS II, Jonas, Lane, OMS II, Isabella Evans-Reister, OMS II Corresponding author: jjung01@vcom.edu

VCOM-Virginia, Blacksburg, Virginia

be experiencing homelessness to permanent housing. The goal of this study is to increase accessibility to housing opportunities and empower local organizations like To Our House to aid anyone who may be experiencing homelessness and, ultimately, increase overall health. Objective: To validate and implement a standardized survey capable of accurately capturing housing qualification requirements across the New River Valley to improve accessibility of permanent housing for individuals experiencing homelessness. Hypothesis/Methods: We hypothesized that a structured and field-tested survey administered to landlords and property managers would provide

complete, actionable, and replicable data on rental qualification criteria. We tested this by piloting the survey across selected HUD-associated properties, gathering information through structured interviews, and assessing whether the resulting dataset could be used to connect prospective tenants with appropriate housing resources.

Background: Homelessness is closely linked to poorer physical and mental health outcomes, and current literature demonstrates that improving access to stable, permanent housing significantly enhances overall health and quality of life. Despite this, individuals experiencing homelessness often face complex and inconsistently communicated housing qualification requirements, creating a major barrier to obtaining potentially available, qualifying housing or HUD-funded rental properties. This study is intended to address this public health problem in the immediate population of the New River Valley region. By developing a field-tested survey to organize, clarify, and disseminate essential housing eligibility information for use by community organizations such as ToOurHouse that aims to connect people who may

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2026 Research Recognition Day