Women constitute a particularly vulnerable subgroup of people living homeless, with their own set of circumstances and life histories that are different from men in the same situation. In this paper, we present the results of a longitudinal study on the situation, needs, characteristics, and process of change among women in a homeless situation in Madrid (Spain). This study involved 136 homeless women who were spending the night at shelters, drop-in centers, on the street, or in public spaces. Data was collected through structured interviews conducted every 6 months for a total of 3 years. Throughout that period of time approximately half of the interviewed leaves the most extreme situation of homelessness. One in four interviewees gained access to independent accommodation, although in most cases this did not mean that they were no longer in a position of residential exclusion. The logistic regression analyses performed suggested that the variables with the closest correlation to improved accommodation were: receiving stable government economic benefits, obtaining income from work, not having Spanish nationality, not having a disability and having suffered fewer stressful life events at baseline, as well as a better perceived state of health. However, with regard to access to independent accommodation, the most closely-related variables were receiving stable government economic benefits and obtaining an income from work. Public Policy Relevance StatementThis longitudinal study showed that approximately half of the women living homeless interviewed in Madrid leaves the most extreme situation of homelessness during a 3-year follow-up period. The most significant factors in improving accommodation were receiving government benefits or income from work, having suffered fewer stressful life events, not having a disability and having better perceived health. The variables with the closest correlation to access to independent accommodation were receiving government benefits or obtaining a job. Data obtained can be useful for policy makers design programs to support This research was supported by "Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacio ´n" of Spain (PID2019-104152 GB-I00/

The paper analyses the health situation and the perceived health status of a sample of women experiencing homelessness (n = 138) in Madrid, Spain. All participants were adults, and the night before the baseline interview, they had slept on the street, at a shelter or any facility provided to care for people living homeless. The information was collected using structured interviews, repeated twice a year for a 3-year follow-up period. The findings of this study show that women experiencing homelessness presented poor health, particularly in comparison with the general Spanish population.Over half of the women questioned claimed to have a diagnosed serious or chronic illness, with a correlation between these conditions and the age, time spent homeless or high levels of drug use. There was a positive correlation found between women's perceived health status and being younger and having access to independent accommodation, while having suffered a number of stressful life events and having spent long periods of time living homeless presented a negative correlation with a good perceived health status.

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People living homeless are quite heterogeneous groups, including different subgroups with specific characteristics that vary substantially. Within this group, women living homeless are an understudied subgroup with specific necessities which in most cases have not been addressed in general studies related to the group. The present study examines determining factors that influence the levels of overall happiness and outlook for the future of women living homeless. To fulfill this objective, a survey was conducted on a group of women living homeless in the city of Madrid (Spain). The results of a structural equation modeling analysis found that having a larger and stable social support network, loneliness, and good health conditions without any problems associated with drug abuse are the main factors influencing their levels of overall happiness and their outlook for the future. The proposed model has also shown that stressful life events play an important role in the analysis, unlike economic aspects, which have a limited impact on their situation. This article provides new information and innovation in research about homelessness, in particular women living homeless, thus being important for extending and replicating its findings to an international context.