Mental Health of Roofless and Squatter Population in North Catalonia

Abstract

Introduction

Homelessness is a phenomenon, which is hard to limit, as it contemplates different situations including roofless and squatters.

Objective

To determine the presence of these homeless categories in the city of Girona and examine the prevalence of diagnosed mental pathology and its principal socio-demographic characteristics.

Methods

Transversal, observational and analytic study of the population of roofless people and squatters. The registers of the outreach street work team, the local police and the public shelter were used in order to detect the cases and their basic socio-demographic characteristics. The clinical record of the mental health and addiction public network was accessed to determine their diagnosis.

Results

During the 6 years of registers, 781 cases of people in situation of roofless and squatters were detected. In total, 83.2% (n = 630) of the cases were men and 16.8% (n = 131) women. The average age was 44.8 (ED = 11.2) and no differences were found regarding gender (Men = 45.3, ED = 11.0 vs. Women = 42.9, ED = 12.2; t = 1.7, df = 405, P = 09). However differences were found regarding origin (Immigrants = 42.2 years, ED = 10.3 vs. Natives = 46.8 years, ED = 11.4; t = -4.2, df = 402, P < .001). A total of, 52.9% of the cases (n = 412) displayed diagnosed mental pathology and 15.8 (n = 123), dual pathology.

Conclusion

Mental pathology is more prevalent among this typology of homeless people than in general population, as other studies prove.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.