ArticleBMJ open2019
Lifetime, 5-year and past-year prevalence of homelessness in Europe: a cross-national survey in eight European nations.
Article in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Homelessness and health-related outcomes: an umbrella review of observational studies and randomized controlled trials.BMC medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Trial
- Risk factors and circumstances associated with homelessness in older adults: a scoping review of quantitative and qualitative studies.The Gerontologist · 2026Article
- Exploring the views and experiences of frailty and resilience among people experiencing homelessness in Ireland: A qualitative study.PloS one · 2026Article
- Fair space? Community relations as a booster for improving resilience.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Health literacy and its association with mental and spiritual well-being among women experiencing homelessness.Health promotion international · 2024Article
- Factors determining the quality of life of homeless people staying in support centers for people in the crisis of homelessness. Pilot study.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Comparison of Causes of Mortality Between Hospitalized Unsheltered Homeless Patients and Non-Homeless Sex and Age-Matched Controls: A Retrospective Case-Control Study.International journal of public health · 2024Article
- Article
- Emergency department outcomes for patients experiencing homelessness in England: retrospective cross-sectional study.European journal of public health · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
16 authors at 9 institutions in 11 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo examine the lifetime, 5-year and past-year prevalence of homelessness among European citizens in eight European nations.
designA nationally representative telephone survey using trained bilingual interviewers and computer-assisted telephone interview software.
settingThe study was conducted in France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
participantsEuropean adult citizens, selected from opt-in panels from March to December 2017. Total desired sample size was 5600, with 700 per country. Expected response rates of approximately 30% led to initial sample sizes of 2500 per country.
main outcome measuresHistory of homelessness was assessed for lifetime, past 5 years and past year. Sociodemographic data were collected to assess correlates of homelessness prevalence using generalised linear models for clustered and weighted samples.
resultsResponse rates ranged from 30.4% to 33.5% (n=5631). Homelessness prevalence was 4.96% for lifetime (95% CI 4.39% to 5.59%), 1.92% in the past 5 years (95% CI 1.57% to 2.33%) and 0.71% for the past year (95% CI 0.51% to 0.98%) and varied significantly between countries (pairwise comparison difference test, p<0.0001). Time spent homeless ranged between less than a week (21%) and more than a year (18%), with high contrasts between countries (p<0.0001). Male gender, age 45-54, lower secondary education, single status, unemployment and an urban environment were all independently strongly associated with lifetime homelessness (all OR >1.5).
conclusionsThe prevalence of homelessness among the surveyed nations is significantly higher than might be expected from point-in-time and homeless service use statistics. There was substantial variation in estimated prevalence across the eight nations. Coupled with the well-established health impacts of homelessness, medical professionals need to be aware of the increased health risks of those with experience of homelessness. These findings support policies aiming to improve health services for people exposed to homelessness.
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