Achi news desk-
A new study published by a team of researchers at the University of Calgary found that the majority of people experiencing homelessness have an underlying mental health condition.
According to a meta-analysis published on Wednesday, the team found that about 67 percent of people experiencing homelessness have a current mental health disorder, while 75 percent have had a mental health disorder at some point in life.
The prevalence of lifetime mental health disorders was higher among men (86 per cent) than women (69 per cent).
North America also has the highest prevalence of mental health disorders among people experiencing homelessness, influenced by factors such as access to health care, cultural differences, social support, housing affordability and working conditions.
The researchers said the most common mental health disorders included substance use disorders, antisocial personality disorders, major depression and generalized mood disorders.
Dr. Dallas Seitz, a psychiatrist and one of the researchers who participated in the study, said that the team searched published studies between 1980 and 2021 and limited them to those that clearly indicated that the population was experiencing homelessness.
The studies also had to measure mental health conditions in some sort of standardized way. The team then combined the studies to get a more accurate measure of the prevalence of mental health conditions.
“I think most people understand that there is some kind of relationship between mental health disorders and homelessness,” Seitz told Global News.
“One of the aims of our study was to really try to get a better sense of how common mental health disorders are among people experiencing homelessness and then begin to understand a little more deeply some of the characteristics or factors associated with health thought disorders among people experiencing homelessness.”
Seitz said the study was cross-sectional, meaning the team looked at homelessness and mental health disorders at the same time. He said it was difficult to know whether mental health issues or homelessness came first, adding that there were many factors that had contributed to these people’s circumstances.
Breaking news from Canada and around the world sent to your email, as it happens.
Common risk factors for homelessness and mental health problems are traumatic early life experiences and poverty, he said. Mental health conditions can also be debilitating for many people and make it difficult for many to maintain employment.
“There are people who have stressful life events, maybe they didn’t have a mental health condition before… But because they’ve lost a job or broken up a relationship, they end up homeless . You can understand how that could lead to mental health issues as well,” Seitz said.
However, he said he cannot directly find a reason why men would have higher rates of mental health disorders compared to women. Seitz speculates that some of the common mental health conditions, such as substance use disorders, tend to be more common in men.
“That may be part of why mental health conditions are higher in men than women,” said the psychiatrist.
“Women may be more likely to experience homelessness because they may be escaping an unsafe home environment, or they may be more economically vulnerable in certain situations. There are reasons for experiencing homelessness. Maybe it’s different to the reasons why men can be homeless, but we can’t, why that is.”
The study also looked at research from low to middle income countries because homelessness is a common problem around the world. According to Seitz, homelessness is difficult to study, especially in those parts of the world.
“So few studies have been published in low and middle income countries. There is a call for more research to be done in those countries to better understand those problems because homelessness can be a bigger problem, and the contribution of mental health can be different in those countries too,” he said.
Seitz said he wants politicians and policy makers to fund resources and support for those experiencing homelessness, and the study gives them a better idea of how much and what kind of resources are needed.
The study said it is essential to have strategies to address the mental health needs of people experiencing homelessness and to effectively support people with mental health disorders to prevent them from experiencing homelessness. Housing first strategies, which provide housing support without the need for specific treatments, are effective in improving housing retention but “show mixed results” for reducing substance use and improving mental health.
“It’s an extremely complex problem. That’s the case everywhere,” Seitz said.
“We need everyone at all levels of government, everyone involved in mental health and social services to work together to try to find solutions to this complex problem. I am not sure if all these parties are always working together as strongly as they could be for this complex problem.
“Although there has been so much talk about housing affordability and much needed support to make housing more affordable for this population, we also need to be talking about mental health support and making sure we have the resources mental health to match those houses. supports.”
Seitz wants regular Calgarians to know that no one chooses to become mentally ill or homeless, and most people have probably had their own struggles or know someone who has suffered from mental illness .
“In some ways, mental health problems affect everyone, and some people are just more fortunate in terms of the support they have around them than others,” she said.
The psychiatrist and researcher said he wants more academics to look at ways of better using data on mental illness and homelessness in order to understand the issue in more detail. At the moment, the data is in different sectors and it is difficult to look at both issues together.
Another limitation is that those experiencing homelessness may be hesitant to talk to researchers and may be reluctant to seek professional treatment for their mental health problems.
“I hope that this type of research will also spur us on to find innovative ways of working together and to work together better between mental health services and housing services. I think there’s a lot of great work going on, but the fact is that both systems are under-resourced,” Seitz said.
“Hopefully our governments will also increase funding and support for these two sectors because that is desperately needed. But in the meantime, there may be ways to explore different models or ways of working together that could be effective.”
