The use of health care services by homeless shelter residents

This submitted article is based on partial data from the Health and Use of Health Care Services by Shelters Users research, taking advantage of the sequential synergy of qualitative and quantitative research strategies. The quantitative research involved 192 respondents, while the qualitative research involved 30 communication partners. The article aims at finding out the relationship between selected health characteristics of the shelter population and their impact on the use of health care services. The article presents data from the quantitative research that are further illustrated by qualitative data. The data were analysed using descriptive statistical methods, a Fisher's exact test, a Wilcoxon test and a Proportion Matching Test. The relationship between mental health and use of health care services (especially in the case of women) has been proven. Homeless people who do not use any health care services are, on average, for a longer period in temporary housing; whereas those who rated their health as more serious used health care services more frequently. In the conclusion, the authors present the implications for social work that resulted from the survey.