College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide 5042, Australia.
Adelaide Dental School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5000, Australia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2024 Oct 1;21(10):1313. doi: 10.3390/ijerph21101313.
This study assessed the physical and psychological health parameters of adults experiencing homelessness to inform the development and delivery of health services by comparing with a housed population in the same South Australian city. Adults experiencing homelessness, known to existing support services, were invited to participate in a comprehensive assessment of their physical and mental health using questionnaires and objective assessments. Descriptive analyses using the percentage of participants failing to attain recommended published thresholds and accumulated health deficits for 16 health assessments were compared for the young group of people experiencing homelessness (18-40 years), the middle aged and older people experiencing homelessness (40-75 years), and a housed population of the middle aged and older people (40-75 years). Those experiencing homelessness had multiple and potentially inter-related health deficits compared with a population of people not experiencing homelessness in the same city. They were significantly less likely to meet healthy population norms for clinical frailty ( < 0.001), psychological distress ( < 0.001), grip strength ( < 0.001), lung function ( < 0.001), sleep quality ( < 0.001), and pelvic floor bother ( = 0.002). Significantly more accumulated health deficits were found for people experiencing homelessness when compared with the same ages for those who were not (mean 6.5 (SD 2.4) compared with 5.0 (SD 2.1)). This considerably increased for people experiencing homelessness aged less than 40 years (mean 8.7 (1.7)). Priorities for health service provision for people of different ages experiencing homelessness, when compared with housed community dwellers, have been described. The provision of targeted health assessments and service provision that specifically address healthcare needs among people experiencing homelessness are likely to have the biggest impacts across multiple health domains.
本研究评估了无家可归成年人的身心健康参数，通过与同一南澳大利亚城市的有住房居民进行比较，为健康服务的制定和提供提供信息。已知现有支持服务的无家可归成年人被邀请参与他们身心健康的综合评估，使用问卷和客观评估。对于无家可归的年轻人（18-40 岁）、中年和老年人（40-75 岁）以及中年和老年人的有住房居民（40-75 岁），使用未能达到建议的已发表阈值的参与者百分比和 16 项健康评估的累积健康缺陷进行描述性分析。与同一城市没有无家可归经验的人群相比，无家可归者存在多种且可能相互关联的健康缺陷。他们不太可能符合健康人群的临床脆弱性标准（<0.001）、心理困扰标准（<0.001）、握力标准（<0.001）、肺功能标准（<0.001）、睡眠质量标准（<0.001）和骨盆底烦恼标准（=0.002）。与同年龄段没有无家可归经验的人相比，无家可归者的累积健康缺陷明显更多（无家可归者为 6.5（SD 2.4），而有住房者为 5.0（SD 2.1））。对于年龄小于 40 岁的无家可归者，这一比例显著增加（平均 8.7（1.7））。描述了为不同年龄的无家可归者提供健康服务的优先事项，与有住房的社区居民相比。为无家可归者提供有针对性的健康评估和专门满足其医疗保健需求的服务，可能会对多个健康领域产生最大影响。
