ENTRAR            

How to cite this document

ABSTRACT

Background: It has been suggested that services that provide health services to people who are homeless in the UK should work together in partnership, communicate more effectively and establish shared health outcomes (RCGP 2002). However, the process by which this occurs is rarely discussed in health care research specific to homelessness in the UK.
Aim: To explore how services that provided health and health promotion services for homeless people living in hostel accommodation, worked together.
Objectives:
- To identify health care provision available to hostel residents
- To identify how services worked together and the circumstances under which this took place
- To identify what factors contributed to successful interagency working
Methods: Informed by the principles of action research the study used mixed methods. Hostel residents took part in focus groups, and interagency working between services was explored during interviews and focus groups. The principles of network theory were applied to analyse absent, strong, weak and asymmetric ties, and the networks and network types they comprised.
Results: 134 individuals participated including 28 hostel residents, and 106 service providers representing 30 services including GPs, specialist primary and mental health care teams, and drug and alcohol services. The most dense networks exhibited the characteristics of enclaves and addressed risk issues including the management of street level antisocial behaviour, and Tuberculosis. Networks that had the most sparse ties addressed health and health promotion and exhibited the characteristics of isolates and individualists. Organisational and personalistic factors were identified that influenced how services worked together.
Conclusions: Network theory was helpful in understanding interagency working between services. It has potential to assist services to better understand their own networks, and consequently to also facilitate the development of interagency working to address the health of people who are homeless.

RECURSOS CUIDEN

RECURSOS CIBERINDEX

FUNDACION INDEX

GRUPOS DE INVESTIGACION

¿Quiénes somos?
RICO Red de Centros Colaboradores
Convenios
Casa de Mágina
MINERVA Jóvenes investigadores
Publicaciones
Consultoría