Health status and health behaviour of the Hungarian homeless people

Abstract

Background Homelessness has risen recently in Europe, but there is lack of comprehensive health data on this population. Our aim was to characterize the health of the Hungarian homeless population. Methods We performed a health survey with 453 homeless individuals. The results were compared to the age and sex standardized data of the general Hungarian population and its lowest income quintile from the European Health Interview Survey 2014. The differences by the ETHOS classification within the homeless population were also studied. Results Significantly fewer homeless people reported good health status than in the general population or in its lowest income quintile (p< 0.001). Of the participants 70% had at least one chronic disease, only 41% of them visited a GP and 35% took medication in the previous 12 months. While 59% of the lowest income quintile and 50% of the general population had at least one chronic disease, almost all of them visited a physician and took medication. The highest prevalence of morbidity (80%) and multimorbidity (46%) was reported in the houseless group. The majority of the homeless people were current smokers, the prevalence was much higher than in the two reference populations (p< 0.001). The prevalence of heavy drinkers was the highest among the roofless participants (40%). Conclusions Homeless people have much poorer health and they utilize health services less than the most disadvantaged quintile of the general population. There is a clear social gradient within the homeless population, as well, which calls for integrated approaches for specific interventions to improve their health.

Digital Technology Access and Health-Related Internet Use Among People Experiencing Homelessness in Hungary: Quantitative Survey

“…The term itself represents a generic expression for people who live on the streets (rough sleepers), people without permanent living arrangements, or those with inadequate habitations. In Hungary, according to the law, people experiencing homelessness are persons without any registered place of residence or whose registered place of residence is the accommodation for homeless individuals [ 1 ].…”

The Association of Interpersonal Relationships and Social Services with the Self-Rated Health of Spanish Homelessness

“…Compared to people with homes, homeless people experience higher use of emergency services [23] and higher prevalence and incidence of medical and psychiatric morbidity and mortality [24]. As Nagy-Borsy et al (2021) indicated, the material deprivation and the lack of resources constrain their capacity to focus on their health problems and health care needs, and prevent them from health-promoting behavior [5]. It is complex to identify the causes and effects between health and homelessness, so an in-depth analysis of SRH is required to contribute to the improvement of knowledge of the homeless' experience.…”

“…Other recent Spanish studies were focused on mortality [49], chronic homelessness in specific cities like Girona [4,50], health of homeless migrants in Valencia [6], and women's mental health in Madrid [45], but not in SRH. There is a clear need for providing robust data about the adverse health circumstances of homeless people [5] and a need for more country-specific cross-sectional studies in Spain [6]. Specifically, the factors that influence homelessness SRH should be studied with more recent data.…”

“…The first two are associated with homelessness, while the second two are more closely related to residential exclusion in the strict sense [2,3]. Homelessness could be triggered by structural factors like insufficient or inadequate social and health care systems, unaffordable housing, or/and individual factors such as health problems and poverty or mental disorders [4,5]. Over 700,000 homeless people are currently living in Europe [6].…”

Chronic diseases and multi-morbidity in persons experiencing homelessness: results from a cross-sectional study conducted at three humanitarian clinics in Germany in 2020

“…Due to a lack of harmonized data across Europe, assessing the extent of homelessness and identifying and addressing the needs of PEH represent a major challenge [ 4 , 29 ]. In 2005, the European Typology of Homelessness and Housing Exclusion (ETHOS) was developed by the European Federation of National Organisations working with the Homeless (FEANTSA) and the European Observatory on Homelessness, to provide a common framework to define and classify homelessness [ 30 ].…”