Prevalence and Nature of Mental Health Problems Among Single, Homeless People in Belfast, Northern Ireland

Background: Exposure to war and conflict increases the risk of mental health problems. Poor living conditions are known to negatively impact mental health. Hypothesis: It is hypothesized that exposure to negative events after armed conflict interacts with past negative experiences, socioeconomic factors and current mental health problems. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in three contexts of previous internal armed conflict: Nepal, Guatemala and Northern Ireland. Three nationally representative samples were drawn, comprising a net sample of 3,229 respondents. Results: Both recent negative events and past negative events linked to the previous conflicts were found to be associated with elevated risk of post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD). Economic marginalization and urban residency also contributed to current risk of PTSD. Conclusions: The results support the study hypothesis that both past and recent negative events in combination with economic marginalization contribute to explain current risk of PTSD. It is necessary both to improve living conditions more broadly and to establish and develop health services that have the capacity to screen, prevent and treat mental health problems also in poor contexts, in particular against a background of previous armed conflict.

Download Full-text

Mental Health Problems Among Homeless People in Sweden

International Journal of Mental Health ◽

10.1080/00207411.2001.11449527 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 30 (3) ◽

pp. 74-83 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Jan Halldin ◽

Leif Eklöf ◽

Christian Lundberg ◽

Stig Åhs

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Homeless People ◽

Health Problems

Download Full-text

PIEs five years on

Mental Health and Social Inclusion ◽

10.1108/mhsi-08-2016-0022 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 20 (4) ◽

pp. 221-230 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Peter Cockersell

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Social Exclusion ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Homeless People ◽

Health Problems ◽

Staff Morale ◽

Content Type ◽

Complex Needs ◽

Client Group ◽

Socially Excluded

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to consider evidence for the effectiveness of the psychologically informed environments (PIEs) approach to working with homeless people in the five years since the national guidance was published. Design/methodology/approach The author reviewed the intended outcomes of the original guidance and then looked at a range of data from evaluations of current PIE services in UK and Ireland. Findings The findings were that the PIE approach is effective in meeting the outcomes suggested by the original guidance; in reducing social exclusion and improving the mental health of homeless people; and in improving staff morale and interactions. Research limitations/implications This is a practice-based evidence. There needs to be more practice-based evidence gathered, and it would be useful if there were some standardised measures, as long as these did not limit the richness of the data which suggests that PIEs have a wide, not narrow, impact. Practical implications The implications are that homelessness services should use the PIE approach, and that they should be supported by clinically trained psychotherapists or psychologists; and that wider mental health services should look at the PIE approach in terms of working effectively with socially excluded people with complex needs/mental health problems. Social implications PIEs are an effective way of working with socially excluded people with mental health problems/complex needs, enabling the reduction of social exclusion among this very excluded client group. Originality/value This is the first review of evidence, much of it so far unpublished, for the effectiveness of PIEs, despite the fact that this approach has been increasingly adopted by both providers and commissioners in the homelessness sector.

Download Full-text

Health Patterns Reveal Interdependent Needs of Dutch Homeless Service Users

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2021.614526 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Coline van Everdingen ◽

Peter Bob Peerenboom ◽

Koos van der Velden ◽

Philippe Delespaul

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Homeless People ◽

Health Problems ◽

Primary Data ◽

Public Health Approach ◽

Snowball Sampling ◽

Positive Health ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Mental Health Questionnaire

Background: Homelessness is an increasing problem in Western European countries. Dutch local authorities initiated cross-sectional reviews to obtain accurate health and needs information on Homeless Service (HS) users.Methods: The Homeless People Treatment and Recovery (HOP-TR) study uses a comprehensive assessment strategy to obtain health data. Using a naturalistic meta-snowball sampling in 2015–2017, 436 Dutch HS users were assessed. The lived experience of HS users was the primary data source and was enriched with professional assessments. The InterRAI Community Mental Health questionnaire and “Homelessness Supplement” provided information in different areas of life. The approach for mental health assessments was transdiagnostic. Raw interview data were recoded to assess health and needs. The positive health framework structured symptomatic, social, and personal health domains relevant to recovery.Results: Most subjects were males, low educated, with a migration background. The majority were long-term or intermittently homeless. Concurrent health problems were present in two domains or more in most (95.0%) subjects. Almost all participants showed mental health problems (98.6%); for a significant share severe (72.5%). Frequent comorbid conditions were addiction (78%), chronic physical conditions (59.2%), and intellectual impairments (39.9%).Conclusion: The HOP-TR study reveals significant concurrent health problems among Dutch HS users. The interdependent character of different needs requires an integrated 3-D public health approach to comprehensively serve symptomatic, social, and personal dimensions, required to facilitate recovery.

Download Full-text

The Making of an Outsider: Growing Up in Poverty in Northern Ireland

Youth & Society ◽

10.1177/0044118x10383543 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 43 (2) ◽

pp. 453-467 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Goretti Horgan

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Northern Ireland ◽

Young People ◽

Social Exclusion ◽

Qualitative Data ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Health Problems ◽

Growing Up ◽

Disadvantaged Community ◽

The Past

The young people who are the focus of this article grow up in communities ravaged by poverty and conflict. School is where they spend most of their time, but their experience of school is, generally, not motivating and increases their feelings of social exclusion; almost one in ten young people whose family depends on benefits leaves school with no educational qualifications and the future they see is bleak. Small wonder, then, that so many suffer from emotional and mental health problems and engage in self-harming behavior. This article will use qualitative data from two studies carried out over the past 5 years to explore the experiences of young people growing up in poverty in Northern Ireland and look at the extent of their exclusion from the norms of society. It will argue that this exclusion is such that some of them feel “outsiders” even within their own, disadvantaged, community, and this is dangerous in a society which is still emerging from conflict.

Download Full-text