ArticleThe Psychiatric quarterly2026
Understanding Healthcare-Seeking Patterns of People Experiencing Homelessness: A Quantitative Multi-Centre Analysis of Emergency Department Utilisation.
Article in The Psychiatric quarterly, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Does the Emergency Department Have a Role in Immunisation? Yes-But Not as a Routine Vaccine Clinic.Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
People experiencing homelessness (PEH) face significant barriers to healthcare access. This study explores the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, as well as health-seeking behaviour, of PEH presenting to two major Australian metropolitan Emergency Departments (EDs). A quantitative observational study was conducted using administrative and clinical data from ED records for all PEH presentations during 2023. Data were analysed using SPSS (v30) and R (4.5.1). Of the 541 cases initially screened, 310 met inclusion criteria, with mean age of 42.4 years (SD = 14.0), and mean ED length of stay (LOS) of 8.48 h (SD = 8.34 h). Disposition status was significantly associated with triage acuity, self-harm history, substance use, chronic disease, suicidal intent, and emergency psychiatry review. Patients with self-harm or substance use histories were more likely to have follow-up arranged (p < 0.001 and p = 0.006 respectively). Younger patients were more often referred to mental health facilities (p = 0.002). This cohort demonstrated a wide range of psychosocial and clinical needs, including documented self-harm, mental health conditions, substance use, and chronic disease, with suicidal intent recorded in one in five presentations. Disposition outcomes varied substantially, and patients triaged as 'not urgent' showed the highest rate of leaving against medical advice (45.2%), suggesting perceived acuity may influence care engagement. Differences across age, sex, and ED length of stay further highlight the diversity of presentations. Collectively, these findings reinforce the need for flexible and responsive care pathways that account for the heterogeneity and complexity of this population.
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Identifiers
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Registered trials
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