Homelessness in Melbourne

Homelessness in Melbourne

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Contents

Background        3

Research Question and Aims        4

Literature Review        4

Methodological Paradigm        7

Method        8

Challenges/Limitations        8

Data Analysis        9

Ethical Approval        9

Timeline        10

Appendix 1        11

Appendix 2        11

Appendix 3        12

References        13

Background

Homelessness is an issue affecting most cities worldwide and Melbourne is not any exception. Despite lack of shelter, homelessness is often interpreted as poor physical health, disability, drug addiction, poor emotional health, and financial issues. The Australian Bureau of Statistics defines homelessness as lack of any element that represents a home (Farrell, 2012). Some of these components include privacy, safety, ability to control living space, and security. Data summary shows that in 2011 Melbourne had the third highest population of homeless people in Victoria. Number one and two were Dandenong and Port Phillip respectively that had 1632 and 1562. The 2011 ABS survey found out that 68 percent of homeless people in Melbourne are men while women account for 32 percent. In terms of age, the Melbourne homelessness statistics show that 65 percent of the people are between 19 and 44 years old (City of Melbourne, 2014). In Appendix 3, the pie chart provides a summary of homeless people in Melbourne. In the figure, the least percentage of homeless people are those who live in temporary lodgings. 21 percent dwell in temporary households while eight percent sleep outside. Previous research mostly dwells on homelessness, leaving out other issues brought about by being homeless. Research shows that most homeless people suffer from one or more mental disorders (Tesson, Hodder, and Buhrich, 2004: Herman et al., 1989). Furthermore, their living condition is a key contributor to lack of medical attention. The aim of my research is to understand the prevalence of mental illness among homeless people and find out factors that prevent these people from accessing medical help. I believe that offering the best care for mentally ill homeless people needs an understanding of the barriers to proper mental health care. The purpose of this study is to investigate the barriers to mental care support for homeless people. The study will select 50 members of SAAP (Supported Accommodation Assistance Program) from Melbourne, which is a city in Australia, and engage them in an interview that will seek answers to why they do not gain access to mental care.

Research Question and Aims

What are the possible barriers that prevent homeless people from gaining access to mental care? The first objective of this research is to assess the prevalence rate of mental illness among homeless people in Melbourne. The second objective is to determine the predictors to lack of mental healthcare among homeless people.

Literature Review

Johnson and Chamberlain (2011) aim to prove that there is no sure link between mental illness and homelessness. They conduct their research by reviewing previous research that try to estimate the prevalence of mental illness among homeless people. The literature reviewed in their article involves various Australian researches that seek to show the association between mental illness and homelessness. For example, one article by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare that researched mental illness among people in the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program revealed that 12 percent of the affiliates had mental health issues. Another article reviewed in the paper involved a study done to measure mental illness among homeless youth. The researchers found out that 26 percent of the interviewed youth displayed signs of distress, which are an indication of psychosis. Johnson and Chamberlain’s research found out that 15 percent of homeless people have mental illness issues. Furthermore, 16 percent of the candidates developed mental disorder after they were homeless. In conclusion to their research, it is apparent that homelessness is a cause of mental illness. It is a predictor of lack of health care support.  

According to Fazel et al. (2008), there are roughly 740, 000 homeless people in America and 380, 000 in the United Kingdom. Nonetheless, the researchers identified a gap in obtaining reliable estimates of the rate of mental illness among homeless individuals. . The team conducted a study that aimed to assess the prevalence of mental illness among the homeless in Western countries, using systematic review and meta-regression analysis. The researchers searched for interview-based surveys of unselected homeless people on the prevalence of major depression, psychotic illnesses, alcohol or drug addiction, and personality disorders. Next, they looked for authors and cross-referenced their names with bibliographic indexes and scanned lists. The investigators explored probable sources of any observed heterogeneity in estimates through meta-regression assessment, including diagnostic measures, sample, size, and location. The research’s findings reveal that significant heterogeneity was seen in prevalence estimates for mental illness among the studies. The most frequent disorders were alcoholism (8-58%), drug addiction (4-54%), and psychotic disorder (2.8-42.3%). In conclusion to the study, it was apparent that homeless people were more likely to be alcohol and drug addicts, as compared to age-mates in the general population. In addition, the prevalence of psychotic disorder was higher in homeless people than the overall population. Therefore, social care and frameworks of psychiatric care are the most suitable methods in meeting the health needs of homeless people with mental disorders.

Teesson, Hodder, and Buhrich (2004) seek to determine the prevalence of mental illness between men and women in Sydney, Australia. The objective of the study is to determine a 12-month prevalence rate of mental illness among homeless people in inner Sydney, and compare the results to homeless individuals in Western cities. The team used the Composite International Diagnostic Interview 2.0 to interview 210 homeless men and women in Sydney. Results of the study revealed that 73% of men and 81% of women met the standards for at least one case of mental illness in the past one year. 40% men and 50% women fulfilled the criteria for two or more mental disorders. The rate of schizophrenia was twenty-three percent and forty-six percent in men and women respectively. 20% of the men and 29% of women showed considerable signs of comorbidity. Lastly, in comparison to Australia, the rate of any mental disorder was four times higher in men than women in central Sydney. Multinational contrast revealed significant cross-cultural variance in the prevalence of mental illness among homeless people. In conclusion to the research, the authors suggest that there is no need for efforts to address the high prevalence of mental disorder within the population. Furthermore, it is appropriate that intervention strategies for the homeless focus on psychotic disorders.