Multidimensional Social Support and the Health of Homeless Individuals

Abstract

Homeless individuals often suffer from serious health problems. It has been argued that the homeless are socially isolated, with low levels of social support and social functioning, and that this lack of social resources contributes to their ill health. These observations suggest the need to further explore the relationship between social networks, social support, and health among persons who are homeless. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between multidimensional (cognitive/perceived and behavioral/received) social support and health outcomes, including physical health status, mental health status, and recent victimization, among a representative sample of homeless individuals in Toronto, Canada. Multivariate regression analyses were performed on social support and health outcome data from a subsample of 544 homeless adults, recruited from shelters and meal programs through multistage cluster sampling procedures. Results indicated that participants perceived moderately high levels of access to financial, emotional, and instrumental social support in their social networks. These types of perceived social supports were related to better physical and mental health status and lower likelihood of victimization. These findings highlight a need for more services that encourage the integration of homeless individuals into social networks and the building of specific types of social support within networks, in addition to more research into social support and other social contextual factors (e.g., social capital) and their influence on the health of homeless individuals.

Using mHealth to Increase Treatment Utilization Among Recently Incarcerated Homeless Adults (Link2Care): Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint)

“…Homeless adults who have phones and access to the internet may have higher levels of social support, which may be related to mental health, quality of life, and ability to obtain housing and avoid re-arrest. [8,41,59] All smart phones will include standard cellular service that includes unlimited text messaging, talk minutes, and Internet access (speeds are throttled after monthly download limit is reached). Participants will be informed that they may use the phone to make calls, text, and use the internet as they wish during the 6-month course of the study.…”

“…[2] Homeless adults are more likely than domiciled adults to be male, single, very low income, and African American, [3][4][5][6][7] and have average life expectancies that are 8 (women) to 13 (men) years shorter. [8] Homeless adults are more likely than domiciled adults to spend time in jail, [9] and as many as 32% of jailed adults report being homeless in the year prior to their arrest. [3,9] Further, homeless adults are more likely to return to jail after incarceration than domiciled adults.…”

“…[34] There are also many specific barriers to the utilization of case management among homeless adults, including lack of a permanent address, telephone service, transportation to case management visits, and access to service providers' contact information. [8,[35][36][37][38][39] These factors reduce the ability of homeless adults to schedule appointments and limits the ability of providers to contact patients regarding appointments. [40,41] Smart Phone Use among Homeless Adults Cell phone ownership is common among homeless adults, with 58.4% reporting that they had active cell phone service, [42] which is not surprising because there are government programs that pay for cell phone service for qualifying very low income adults.…”

Personas sin hogar y discapacidad

“…En la Fase 1, se solicitó a los profesionales de RAIS Fundación que cumplimentaran una ficha sobre cada uno de los usuarios en atención, a 1. Reconoce que una persona tiene discapacidad en un grado igual o superior al 33 %, según el procedimiento de valoración establecido por RD 1971/1999modificado por RD 1856/2009 partir de los datos recogidos en los registros de la propia entidad. En el caso de que los profesionales no contaran con la información solicitada, si era posible, se contactaba con los propios usuarios para recoger dicha información.…”

“…Este gran rango de problemas médicos probablemente podría deberse a factores diversos -pobreza, retraso en buscar asistencia sanitaria, dificultades en el acceso a los servicios de atención, no adherencia a los tratamientos, efectos de la situación sin hogar en sí misma (falta de higiene, alimentación pobre, ser víctimas de violencia), etc.-y podrían estar mediados por variables como el apoyo social (Hwang et al, 2009).…”