INTRODUCTION Although the clinical consequences of homelessness are well described, less is known about the role for health care systems in improving clinical and social outcomes for the homeless. We described the national implementation of a "homeless medical home" initiative in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and correlated patient health outcomes with characteristics of high-perform...

Empirical data indicative of the health conditions and medical needs of homeless persons are scarce in Japan. In this study, with the aim of contributing to the formulation of future healthcare strategies for the homeless, we conducted a self-administered questionnaire survey and interviews at a park in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, to clarify the living conditions of homeless persons and their health ...

BACKGROUND Homelessness is believed to be a cause of health problems and high medical costs, but data supporting this association have been difficult to obtain. We compared lengths of stay and reasons for hospital admission among homeless and other low-income persons in New York City to estimate the hospitalization costs associated with homelessness. METHODS We obtained hospital-discharge dat...

OBJECTIVE Studies examining the relationship between homeless persons and the use of psychiatric emergency services (PES) in a country with universal access to health care are lacking. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of homelessness in adults visiting a PES in Spain, identify the differences between homeless and non-homeless patients in the use of PES and analyze the factors associ...

Few studies exist on the types of characteristics associated with service utilization (e.g., shelters, food programs) among homeless youth in the U.S. Services are important, however, because without food and shelter, numerous homeless youth resort to trading sex in order to meet their daily survival needs. Access to physical and mental health services gives homeless youth more of an opportunit...

OBJECTIVES We examined and compared the changing neighborhood characteristics of a group of homeless adults over time. METHODS We collected the addresses of previous housing and sleep locations from a longitudinal study of 400 homeless adults in the St. Louis, Missouri, region and compared census measures of housing and economic opportunities at different points along individual pathways from...

Vaccination programs are an important component of public health initiatives and preventative medicine. This is particularly true in an urban environment where such factors as density, sanitation and pollution increase exposure to a variety of communicable disease. The most vulnerable populations such as slum-dwelling poor, homeless individuals and the elderly-poor are both more prone to exposu...

OBJECTIVE This article presents findings from a study of the causes of homelessness among newly homeless older people in selected urban areas of the United States, England, and Australia. METHODS Interviews were conducted in each country with > or =122 older people who had become homeless during the last 2 years. Information was also collected from the subjects' key workers about the circumst...

A qualitative research design using the interviews of five homeless street females was undertaken to understand the meaning of the lived experiences of the homeless street females and their identified need for community based programs. This research design provided the researchers with the opportunity to understand the complexities of homelessness from the homeless street females in Ethiopia us...

Control has emerged as an important psychological variable. The purpose of this project was to extend the concept of environmental control to the homeless shelter environment. Data from interviews conducted with residents of a homeless shelter supported the hypothesis that perceived loss of control over the shelter environment would be positively related to giving up on finding a home and emplo...