ArticleThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2019
Multimorbidity and emergency department visits by a homeless population: a database study in specialist general practice.
Article in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 62 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
62 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 109 citations in OpenAlex.
- The prevalence of multimorbidity with mental and physical health for people who experience homelessness: a systematic review.European journal of public health · 2025Pooled it
- Prevalence and risk factors of frailty in people experiencing homelessness: A systematic review and meta-analysis.The Journal of frailty & aging · 2025Pooled it
- The prevalence of mental disorders among homeless people in high-income countries: An updated systematic review and meta-regression analysis.PLoS medicine · 2021Pooled it
- Scope, quality and inclusivity of international clinical guidelines on mental health and substance abuse in relation to dual diagnosis, social and community outcomes: a systematic review.BMC psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- Barriers to monitoring and management of cardiovascular and metabolic health of patients prescribed antipsychotic drugs: a systematic review.BMC psychiatry · 2020Pooled it
- Baseline characteristics of people experiencing homelessness in the PHOENIx community pharmacy multicentre pilot randomised controlled trial.International journal for equity in health · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Patient and Public Involvement in Research Evaluating Integrated Care for People Experiencing Homelessness: Findings From the PHOENIx Community Pharmacy Pilot Randomised-Controlled Trial.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2024Trial
- Treatment burden for people experiencing homelessness with a recent non-fatal overdose: a questionnaire study.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2023Trial
- Development of Sarcopenia Management Systems for Former Homeless Older Adults Residing in Supportive Housing: Mixed Methods Study.Asian/Pacific Island nursing journal · 2026Article
- Ethno-Racial Differences in the Effectiveness of Housing First on Healthcare Utilization Among Homeless Adults with Mental Illness: At Home Chez-Soi, a Pragmatic Randomized Trial.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026Article
- Protocol for a mixed methods realist evaluation of the Intervention to optiMise Palliative caRe for peOple with liVed Experience of homelessness (IMPROVE).NIHR open research · 2026Article
- Alcohol use and support receipt among people experiencing homelessness in England: a cross-sectional analysis with comparison to private household populations.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- COVID-19 response and the unhoused communities in Sacramento: a mixed methods study with policy implications.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Normalization of alcohol misuse and alcohol-related harms: a mixed methods analysis exploring alcohol misuse, morbidity, and healthcare engagement in people experiencing homelessness.Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire) · 2025Article
- Comparing major comorbidity indices as predictors of all-cause mortality in the Veterans Affairs health care system.Journal of clinical epidemiology · 2025Article
- Learnings from providing integrated health, housing and wider care for people rough sleeping during the COVID- 19 pandemic: a national qualitative study of the 'Everyone In' policy initiative.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Nutrition Status of People Experiencing Homelessness Residing in Temporary Accommodation in London.Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association · 2025Article
- Patterns, circumstances and risk factors associated with non-fatal substance overdose in a cohort of homeless population: an observational study.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2025Observational
- 'The lights are on, and the doors are always open': a qualitative study to understand challenges underlying the need for emergency care in people experiencing homelessness in rural and coastal North East England.BMJ public health · 2025Article
2 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEstimating healthcare needs of the homeless is associated with challenges in identifying the eligible population.
aimTo explore the demographic characteristics, disease prevalence, multimorbidity, and emergency department visits of the homeless population. DESIGN AND
settingEMIS electronic database of patient medical records and Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) data of all 928 patients registered with a major specialist homeless primary healthcare centre based in the West Midlands in England, from the period of October 2016 to 11 October 2017.
methodPrevalence data on 21 health conditions, multimorbidity, and visits to emergency departments were explored and compared with the general population datasets.
resultsMost homeless people identified were male (89.5%), with a mean age of 38.3 (SD = 11.5) years, and of white British origin (22.1%). Prevalence of substance (13.5%) and alcohol dependence (21.3%), hepatitis C (6.3%), and multimorbidity (21.3%) were markedly higher than in the general population. A third (32.5%) had visited the emergency department in the preceding 12 months. Emergency department visits were associated with a patient history of substance (odds ratio [OR] = 2.69) and alcohol dependence (OR = 3.14).
conclusionA high prevalence of substance and alcohol dependence, and hepatitis C, exists among the homeless population. Their emergency department visit rate is 60 times that of the general population and the extent of multimorbidity, despite their lower mean age, is comparable with that of 60-69-year-olds in the general population. Because of multimorbidity, homeless people are at risk of fragmentation of care. Diversification of services under one roof, preventive services, and multidisciplinary care are imperative.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.