Homelessness is a social problem that affects all facets of contemporary society. This paper discusses the concept of homelessness in terms of its historical context and the dominance of the pervasive 'victim blaming' ideologies, which, together with the worldwide economic changes that have contributed to a fiscal crisis of the state, and the resultant policies and circumstances, have led to an...

Present work is an attempt to describe the socio-economic status of homeless people. It was conducted in Bahir Dar city of Amhara region with objectives to identify demographic characteristics and socio-economic status of the homeless population, and to describe problems faced by homeless people. On basis of random sampling four kebeles were selected where using purposive sampling 120 homeless ...

OBJECTIVE The study explored homeless young people's knowledge and attitudes of Chlamydia trachomatis (Chlamydia) and its screening. DESIGN Semi-structured interviews using focus groups. SETTING An inner city clinic for homeless young people. SUBJECTS Homeless young people aged 16 -26 years. OUTCOMES Perceptions of Chlamydia and its screening. RESULTS 19 males and 6 females aged 16-26...

Causal attributions of homelessness may affect both the design and acceptance of public policies aimed at improving the situation of homeless people and the strategies that homeless people themselves decide to adopt in order to cope with their situation. This article analyzes the differences in causal attributions of homelessness based on gender, age, nationality, educational background, percei...

AIMS To assess the prevalence of alcoholism and somatic codisorders of homeless people. DESIGN Epidemiological cross-sectional field study in a sample of the homeless in the area. SETTING The study was conducted from 1997 to 1999 in the inner-city area of Mannheim, Germany (approximately 320 000 inhabitants). PARTICIPANTS One hundred and two single homeless people (15-16% of the estimated...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to appraise referrals of homeless patients to physiotherapy services and explore perceptions of barriers to access. DESIGN This exploratory mixed-method study used a follow-up qualitative extension to core quantitative research design. Over 9 months, quantitative data were gathered from the healthcare records of homeless patients referred to physiother...

BACKGROUND Homelessness is a widespread problem in the United States. The primary goal of this systematic review is to provide guidance in the development and organization of programs to improve the health of homeless people. METHODS MEDLINE, CINAHL, HealthStar, PsycINFO, Sociological Abstracts, and Social Services Abstracts databases were searched from their inception through July 2004 using...

OBJECTIVES We examined health care disparities in Korean urban homeless people and individual characteristics associated with the utilization of health care. METHODS We selected a sample of 203 homeless individuals at streets, shelters, and drop-in centers in Seoul and Daejeon by a quota sampling method. We surveyed demographic information, information related to using health care, and health...

BACKGROUND Homeless people have poorer health status than the general population. They need complex care management, because of associated medical troubles (somatic and psychiatric) and social difficulties. We aimed to describe the main characteristics of the primary care programs that take care of homeless people, and to identify which could be most relevant. METHODS We performed a literatur...

Commentary Commentaire H omelessness, a phenomenon with complex causes and potential for tragic consequences, is a public health and societal problem in cities, towns and rural areas worldwide. Men, women and children — be they refugees in Eastern Europe, street children in Uganda or what the developed world thinks of as " the homeless " — make up a growing vulnerable population that is at an u...