Homeless Women | ScienceGate

Background While literature exists about persons who use injection drugs, few studies explore the experience of women who use these substances. Furthermore, even less research specifically focuses on the lives and experiences of homeless women who use injection drugs. What literature does exist, moreover, is often dated and primarily addresses concerns about infectious disease transmission among these women; and some highlight that these women have lives fraught with violence. Purpose To update this knowledge and better understand the lives of women who use injection drugs in the Canadian context. Methods We undertook an exploratory qualitative study and we engaged in semi-structured interviews with 31 homeless women who use injection drugs in downtown Ottawa, Canada. We analyzed the data using the principles of applied thematic analysis. Results Our data identified that violence pervaded the lives of our participants and that these experiences of violence could be categorized into three main areas: early and lifelong experiences of violence; violence with authority figures (e.g., police, healthcare); and societal violence toward women who use injection drugs. Conclusions We take these findings to mean that, violence toward women is rampant in Canada (not just internationally) and that healthcare workers play a role in propagating and addressing this violence.

Download Full-text

Service usage of a cohort of formerly homeless women in Aotearoa New Zealand

SSM - Population Health ◽

10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100842 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 100842

Author(s):

Brodie Fraser ◽

Maddie White ◽

Hera Cook ◽

Elinor Chisholm ◽

Jenny Ombler ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Homeless Women ◽

Service Usage ◽

Aotearoa New Zealand ◽

Formerly Homeless

Download Full-text

A Comparison of Coping Strategies Among Homeless Women With Dependent Children and Homeless Women Without Children

Families in Society The Journal of Contemporary Social Services ◽

10.1177/1044389420978116 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 104438942097811

Author(s):

Jennifer L. Talley ◽

Patti Hammonds-Greene

Keyword(s):

Social Networks ◽

Multivariate Analysis ◽

Problem Solving ◽

Coping Strategies ◽

Statistical Difference ◽

Univariate Analysis ◽

Homeless Women ◽

Homeless Shelters ◽

Problem Solving Skills ◽

Dependent Children

The purpose of this study was to compare the coping strategies between homeless women with dependent children and homeless women without dependent children. Of the 192 homeless women in this study, 64 were mothers whose dependent children lived with them, and 132 were women who did not have dependent children living with them. The women were recruited from homeless shelters in Georgia, in the Metro Atlanta area and surrounding counties. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to test the differences between both groups using their scores on the Coping Strategies Inventory scales survey instrument (problem-solving skills, problem reframing, and ability to access social networks). Univariate analysis was used to look at each dependent variable. There was no statistical difference in coping strategies between both groups. The conclusions from this study suggest continued research regarding the benefit of coping strategies among homeless populations.

Download Full-text