Homeless people and health care in Canada

Homeless people face many health challenges while living on the street. According to Hwang (Hwang, Stephen. 2001) men living on the street have a mortality rate 9 times higher than the general population and women have a mortality rate 31 times higher. This is due to many medical problems as well as violence experienced on the street. According to Hwang, Chiu, and Tolomiczenko (2010), 1 in 6 homeless individuals living in Toronto has had unmet needs for health care within the last year. When care is needed, the homeless population often seeks care in the emergency departments. While Canada has a system of universal health insurance, it's common for homeless people to not possess proof of coverage due to it being lost or stolen. In 2001 in Toronto, 7% of individuals living on the street did not possess their health insurance card. Many other barriers can also be present making it challenging for homeless people to get adequate health care.

So how can we overcome these barriers to serve this vulnerable population?

Shelters: the lack of shelters can cause serious health problems in the cold winter weather or the hot summer months. Extreme temperatures can lead to death. Having more shelter options would better serve the homeless population.

Violence: a lot of unmet health care needs from a past physical assault. This means increasing street safety for homeless people could lower the healthcare needs of this population.

Financial barriers: although Canada is covered by universal health insurance, some medications that can be necessary are not covered. Covering these medications for homeless people is necessary for their health.

Mistrust of health providers: when homeless people chose to visit a medical provider, they are often stigmatized and not treated equally to the general population. Education towards the personal is necessary. According to Mark (Goomansign, Crystal, 2014), a homeless man living in Toronto's street, health care providers seem not to care when it comes to homeless people.

The accessibility to health care: transportation to medical appointments, the lack of family physicians and the knowledge to know when it is appropriate to seek medical care are barriers for the homeless population. Having teams of medical providers that could visit shelters and/or have mobile health units to visit the streets could help care for the homeless.

Resources :

Goomansingh, Crystal. (September 8, 2014). Toronto homeless feels discriminated against by healthcare workers. Global News. Retrieved from cnhs.lms.athabascau.ca November 20, 2022.

Hwang, S. W., Ueng, J. J., Chiu, S., Kiss, A., Tolomiczenko, G., Cowan, L., Levinson, W., & Redelmeier, D. A. (2010). Universal health insurance and health care access for homeless persons. American journal of public health, 100(8), 1454–1461. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2009.182022

Hwang, S. W., Ueng, J. J., Chiu, S., Kiss, A., Tolomiczenko, G., Cowan, L., Levinson, W., & Redelmeier, D. A. (2010). Universal health insurance and health care access for homeless persons. American journal of public health, 100(8), 1454–1461. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2009.182022