How prevalent is chronic pain and depression in the homeless population of an English County ?
Abstract
Paper # 2
How prevalent is chronic pain and depression in the homeless population of an English County ?
Title :
How prevalent is chronic pain and depression in the homeless population of an English County ?
Authors :
Samuel David Prosser , Dr . Anirban Banerjee , Dr . Ross Wilkie
DOI :
https :// doi . org / 10.21252 / xwtm-ce36
Abstract
In England , members of the homeless population currently attend services like accident and emergency six times more often , stay in hospital three times longer , and are four times more likely to be admitted to hospital when compared to the general population . As a result this population is impacting the expenditure of health-care services , with the homeless population costing eight-fold more than the general population . With a rising population of those either at risk or entering a state of homelessness it is clear that the current climate of provision is unsustainable and root causes for these recurrent attendances and admissions needs to be identified . Chronic pain and ill mental health are an accepted prognostic indicator for increased rates of attendance to healthcare services and are well reported on in the general population . However , there is little understanding of the effects on the homeless population . Therefore , the aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of chronic pain and mental health in the homeless population with the potential of identifying a correlation with healthcare service attendance .
This cross-sectional observational study recruited 40 participants from Staffordshire ’ s homeless population and assessed their experience of chronic pain and ill mental health through a survey comprised of two standardised questionnaires regarding mental health , and one questionnaire on chronic pain . The data from the surveys was formulated and is presented within this paper . The findings show that 60 % of participants experienced moderate to severe levels of depression within 14 days of having completed the survey . 55 % experienced ‘ chronic pain ’, and 1 in 3 experienced pain that interfered with daily living . Chronic pain was most commonly reported around the foot / ankle and lower back . In comparison to the general population the homeless community involved in this study demonstrated a higher prevalence of chronic and depression . From this study it can be justifiably advised that proactive public-health is commenced and intervention promoted so to address the unsustainable state of health and well-being within the homeless community .
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