OBJECTIVES We comprehensively assessed health care utilization in a population-based sample of homeless adults and matched controls under a universal health insurance system. METHODS We assessed health care utilization by 1165 homeless single men and women and adults in families and their age- and gender-matched low-income controls in Toronto, Ontario, from 2005 to 2009, using repeated-measur...

BACKGROUND Homelessness and poverty are important social problems, and reducing the prevalence of homelessness and the incidence of injury and illness among people who are homeless would have significant financial, societal, and individual implications. Recent research has identified high rates of traumatic brain injury (TBI) among this population, but to date there has not been a review of the...

OBJECTIVE To determine the number of single homeless people in Sheffield and to examine their demography and social and medical details. DESIGN Census carried out between 8 am and 8 pm on one day. Participants completed a questionnaire designed to provide data relating to employment history, contact with welfare and health services, social state, prison history, medical history, and health st...

Over the past 20 years homelessness has emerged as a significant social problem affecting thousands of people every night in cities across Canada (Bégin, Casavant, & Chenier, 1999; Hwang, 2001).The prevalence of mental health problems and addictions is considerably higher among homeless people than among the general population (Aubry, Klodawsky, & Hay, 2003; Canadian Institute for Health Inform...

It is reasonable to assume that individuals and families who are homeless have been exposed to trauma. Research has shown that individuals who are homeless are likely to have experienced some form of previous trauma; homelessness itself can be viewed as a traumatic experience; and being homeless increases the risk of further victimization and retraumatization. Historically, homeless service set...

INTRODUCTION Homeless people are a vulnerable group to sexually transmitted diseases (STD) with high prevalence of syphilis and hepatitis. OBJECTIVES To estimate the prevalence of syphilis infection and its association with risky behaviors for STDs in a sample of homeless people, and to assess the feasibility of the use of rapid syphilis test (RST) in this population. METHODS Cross-sectiona...

Previous research on religion and helping has left some questions unanswered. In the present study, participants expressed willingness to help groups of people in need (homeless people and illegal immigrants), and this after having been religiously versus non-religiously stimulated. The activation of religious context increased the willingness to help, but only the homeless. Orthodox religious ...

This paper is a preliminary report of findings in an ongoing study of the role of music in the lives of homeless young people which is taking place in Vancouver, British Columbia and Seattle, WA. One hundred homeless young people in Vancouver took part in online surveys, 20 of these young people participated in interviews and 64 completed design activities. Surveys included demographic and musi...

New York City faces the challenge of an ever-increasing homeless population with almost 60,000 people currently living in city shelters. In 2015, approximately 25% of families stayed longer than 9 months in a shelter, and 17% of families with children that exited a homeless shelter returned to the shelter system within 30 days of leaving. This suggests that ”long-term” shelter residents and tho...