Background
Homelessness has risen recently in Europe, but there is lack of comprehensive health data on this population. Our aim was to characterize the health of the Hungarian homeless population.
Methods
We performed a health survey with 453 homeless individuals. The results were compared to the age and sex standardized data of the general Hungarian population and its lowest income quintile from the European Health Interview Survey 2014. The differences by the ETHOS classification within the homeless population were also studied.
Results
Significantly fewer homeless people reported good health status than in the general population or in its lowest income quintile (p< 0.001). Of the participants 70% had at least one chronic disease, only 41% of them visited a GP and 35% took medication in the previous 12 months. While 59% of the lowest income quintile and 50% of the general population had at least one chronic disease, almost all of them visited a physician and took medication. The highest prevalence of morbidity (80%) and multimorbidity (46%) was reported in the houseless group. The majority of the homeless people were current smokers, the prevalence was much higher than in the two reference populations (p< 0.001). The prevalence of heavy drinkers was the highest among the roofless participants (40%).
Conclusions
Homeless people have much poorer health and they utilize health services less than the most disadvantaged quintile of the general population. There is a clear social gradient within the homeless population, as well, which calls for integrated approaches for specific interventions to improve their health.
Background Homelessness has risen recently in Europe, but there is lack of comprehensive health data on this population. Our aim was to characterize the health of the Hungarian homeless population.Methods We performed a health survey with 453 homeless individuals. The results were compared to the age and sex standardized data of the general Hungarian population and its lowest income quintile from the European Health Interview Survey 2014. The differences by the ETHOS classification within the homeless population were also studied.Results Significantly fewer homeless people reported good health status than in the general population or in its lowest income quintile (p < 0.001). Of the participants 70% had at least one chronic disease, only 41% of them visited a GP and 35% took medication in the previous 12 months. While 59% of the lowest income quintile and 50% of the general population had at least one chronic disease, almost all of them visited a physician and took medication. The highest prevalence of morbidity (80%) and multimorbidity (46%) was reported in the houseless group. The majority of the homeless people were current smokers, the prevalence was much higher than in the two reference populations (p < 0.001). The prevalence of heavy drinkers was the highest among the roofless participants (40%).Conclusions Homeless people have much poorer health and they utilize health services less than the most disadvantaged quintile of the general population. There is a clear social gradient within the homeless population, as well, which calls for integrated approaches for specific interventions to improve their health.
Az egészséges táplálkozás sok ember számára jelentős kihívást jelent, mivel számos társadalmi, ökológiai és pszichés tényező jelenthet akadályt a megvalósításában; ilyen például az egészséges élelmiszerek magasabb ára, a táplálkozással kapcsolatos hiányos ismeretek, valamint az egészségtelen élelmiszerek elfogyasztásával társuló élvezetérzet. Korábbi tanulmányok kimutatták, hogy a különböző pénzügyi juttatások ösztönző hatásúak lehetnek az egészséges élelmiszerek vásárlására nézve, és azok a résztvevők, akik valamilyen anyagi kedvezményt kaptak, több gyümölcsöt és zöldséget vásároltak. Az anyagi tényezők mellett számos tanulmány bizonyította azt is, hogy az általános tudnivalókat tartalmazó üzenetekhez képest, a személyre szabott, egészséges táplálkozással kapcsolatos információk sokkal kedvezőbb hatást gyakoroltak az egyének étrenddel kapcsolatos viselkedésére.
Az egészséges táplálkozás rendkívül fontos a különböző krónikus betegségek, valamint a túlsúly és elhízás megelőzése szempontjából. Korábbi kutatások szerint a kül önböző, táplálkozással kapcsolatos betegségek megjelenésének növekvő tendenciája egyenes arányban áll a nem házi készítésű ételek fogyasztási gyakoriságának növekedésével. Az említett ételek preferálása, valamint az ételkészítéssel töltött idő hiánya pedig összefüggésbe hozható a káros táplálkozási szokások megjelenésével és a későbbi egészségügyi problémák kialakulásával.
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