Describing the Health of the Absolutely Homeless Population in Downtown Calgary 2008

People experiencing homelessness carry a heavy burden of illness and disease compared to those in the general population. We analysed data from the Calgary 2008 Vulnerability Index (VI) survey to assess the health of individuals experiencing absolute homelessness. In October and December 2008 a conv...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Canadian journal of urban research Vol. 19; no. 2; pp. 62 - 79
Main Authors:	Nicholson, Cherie L., Graham, John R., Emery, J.C. Herbert, Schiff, Jeannette Waegemakers, Giacomin, Marina L., Tanasescu, Alina I.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg 22-12-2010 Institute of Urban Studies Institute for Urban Studies
Subjects:	Addictions Chronic illnesses Disease Diseases Downtowns Dying Epidemiology Females Health Health aspects Health care access Health services Health surveys Homeless people Homeless persons Homelessness Housing Illness Indexes Intervention Location Mental health Mortality Personal health Population Public health Respiratory diseases Risk Studies Substance abuse Surveys Urban studies Vulnerability Alberta
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Summary:	People experiencing homelessness carry a heavy burden of illness and disease compared to those in the general population. We analysed data from the Calgary 2008 Vulnerability Index (VI) survey to assess the health of individuals experiencing absolute homelessness. In October and December 2008 a convenience sample of 137 homeless individuals were surveyed with a variant of the Common Ground (New York) VI instrument. Calgary's homeless population has alarmingly poor health. The Calgary homeless have higher reported rates of liver disease, kidney disease, and frostbite when compared with other North American VI survey locations. Homeless females in Calgary are less prevalent than males but their health is much poorer. Homeless individuals in Calgary are sick and at an increased risk of dying prematurely. The VI is an effective tool to assess the health of the homeless population and should be further utilized to focus immediate interventions. Les sans–abris ont généralement un taux de maladie et d'infection plus élevé que la population en générale. Notre étude est basé sur l'analyse des données du recensement de l'Indice de Vulnérabilité de Calgary (2008). Notre objectif est d'évaluer l'état de santé des individus qui sont entièrement sans-abris. L'étude est basée sur un échantillon de 137 sans-abris à partir d'une variation de la méthode Common Ground V1 (New York). L'on constate une évolution alarmante de l'état de santé de la population des sans-abris à Calgary. Ces sans-abris ont un taux plus élevé de maladie rénale, du foie et de gelure comparativement aux autres recensements de type V1 de différentes villes nord-américaines. Les femmes sans-abris sont moins nombreuses que les hommes. Toutefois, leurs état de santé est encore plus alarmant que les mâles. On constate donc que l'état de santé des sans-abris est précaire et le risque d'une mort prématurée est fort élevé au sein de cette population. Common Ground V1 est un outil d'étude efficace pour mesurer l'état de santé de la population des sans-abris afin de mettre l'accent sur des interventions immédiates pour aider la population des sans-abris.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1188-3774 2371-0292