| Abstract: | Housing has long been identified as a prerequisite for goodhealth. In Britain not all members of the population have accessto housing. The homeless population may be divided into thosewho are officially accepted as homeless and the unofficial homelesspopulation. The official homeless population is dominated byfamilies with children whilst the unofficial homeless populationincludes a range of circumstances from those living in squatsto those literally living on the streets. In Britain the numberof official homeless tripled between 1978 and 1992 and is currently143,500 households (approximately 330,500 people). It is estimatedthat there are a further 6, 000 people living on the streetsand 50,000 in hostels giving a total estimated homeless populationof 386, 050. Demographic data indicate that there are importantdifferences in the composition of the official and unofficialhomeless populations. The official homeless group consists almostexclusively of young families, usually headed by a lone female.The unofficial homeless group is predominantly male and older.The official homeless population report higher prevalences ofchronic health problems and general psychiatric problems thanthe general population whilst the unofficial group are characterizedby elevated rates of psychiatric disturbance and alcohol consumption.These data indicate that homeless people are not a homogeneoussocial group but present a variety of different health needswhich require the provision of appropriate services. |
