Abstract
Homelessness takes a wide variety of forms but homeless people are among the most vulnerable and excluded in society. They have much higher rates of physical and mental illness and premature death than the general population, yet are less likely to be registered with a GP. This article aims to explore the reasons behind this, the specific health needs of homeless people and the role of general practice in their care.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Bines
W.
(1994 ) The health of single homeless people . Centre for Housing Policy, University of York . Retreived from www.york.ac.uk/inst/chp/publications/PDF/healthofsinglehlss.pdf .
2.Crisis. . How many, how much? Single homelessness and the question of numbers and cost (2003) . Retreived from www.crisis.org.uk/data/files/document_library/research/howmanyhowmuch_full.pdf .
3.Department of Health. (2010a ) Inclusion health: improving primary care for socially excluded people . Retreived from http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130107105354/http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/@ps/documents/digitalasset/dh_114365.pdf .
4.Department of Health, Office of the Chief Analyst. Healthcare for single homeless people. (2010b ). Retreived from www.dhcarenetworks.org.uk/_library/Resources/Housing/Support_materials/Other_reports_and_guidance/Healthcare_for_single_homeless_people.pdf .
5.
Fountain
J.
Howes
S.
National Addiction Centre. (2002 ) Home and dry? Homelessness and substance use . Crisis . Retreived from www.drugsandhousing.co.uk/homeanddrycrisis.pdf .
6.
Hewett
N.
(2010 ) Evaluation of the London Pathway for homeless patients . University College London hospital . Retreived from www.londonpathway.org.uk/uploads/London_Pathway_Evaluation.pdf .
7.
Hewett
N.
Halligan
A.
(2010 ) Homelessness is a healthcare issue . Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 103 : 306 –307 . doi: 10.1258/jrsm.2010.10k028 .
8.Leicester Homeless Primary Health Care Service. (2008 ) Annual report 2007/8 , Leicester City NHS Community Health Service .
9.
Lester
H.
Heath
I.
Wright
N.
Thomas
P.
van Zwanenberg
F.
(2002 ) RCGP statement on homelessness and primary care . Retreived from www.rcgp.org.uk/policy/rcgp-policy-areas/∼/media/Files/Policy/A-Z-policy/clinspec_1HInequSGStatements.ashx .
10.
Maguire
N. J.
Johnson
R.
Vostanis
P.
Keats
H.
Remington
R. E.
(2009 ) Homelessness and complex trauma: a review of the literature , University of Southampton Retreived from www.homelesspages.org.uk/node/24195 .
11.
Marmot
M.
(2010 ) Fair Society, healthy lives: strategic review of health inequalities in England, post-2010 . Retreived from www.instituteofhealthequity.org/Content/FileManager/pdf/fairsocietyhealthylives.pdf .
12.
Morrison
D. S.
(2009 ) Homelessness as an independent risk factor for mortality: results from a retrospective cohort study . International Journal of Epidemiology 38 : 877 –883 . Retreived from www.ije.oxfordjournals.org/content/38/3/877.full.pdf+html?sid=0a98030a-72bd-4ea7-ab6c-18e5cc6821d3 .
13.
Pleace
N.
Jones
A.
England
J.
(1999 ) Access to general practice for people sleeping rough . York: Centre for Housing Policy, University of York .
14.
Quilgars
D.
Pleace
N.
(2003 ) Delivering health care to homeless people: an effectiveness review . Retreived from https://pure.york.ac.uk/portal/files/15515481/PDF_of_final_HEBS_report.pdf [date last accessed 27.11.11] .
15.RCGP. Clincal example 3.01: Healthy people: promoting health and preventing disease. Retrieved from www.rcgp.org.uk/gp-training-and-exams/∼/media/Files/GP-training-and-exams/Curriculum-2012/RCGP-Curriculum-3-01-Healthy-People.ashx .
16.Royal College of Physicians. (1994 ) Homeless and ill health: report of a working party of the Royal College of Physicians , Royal College of Physicians ISBN: 9781860160097 .
17.
Spence
S.
(2009 ) Roofless in a steel city: learning from the homeless mentally ill . Psychiatric Bulletin 33 : 64 –69 . doi: 10.1192/pb.bp.107.018994 .
18.
Spence
S.
Stevens
R.
Parks
R.
(2004 ) Cognitive dysfunction in homeless adults: a systematic review . Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 97 : 375 –379 . Retreived from www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1079556/pdf/0970375.pdf .
19.
20.
Thomson
N.
(2003 ) I would hate to think it was because I was homeless: health needs assessment of young people experiencing homelessness , Glasgow Homelessness Network .
21.
Van Den Hoek
A.
(1997 ) STD control in drug users and street youth . Genitourinary Medicine 73 (4 ): 240 –244 . Retreived from www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1195850/pdf/genitmed00004-0006.pdf .
22.
Wright
N.
Tompkins
C.
(2006 ) How can health services effectively meet the health needs of homeless people? British Journal of General Practice 56 (525 ): 286 –293 . Retreived from www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1832238/pdf/bjpg56-286.pdf.
23.
Wright
N.
Campbell
T.
Tompkins
C.
(2002 ) Comparison of conventional and accelerated hepatitis B immunisation schedules for homeless drug users . Communicable Disease and Public Health 5 (4 ): 324 –326 .
