INTRODUCTION

1. Providing Health Care Services to Homeless Populations: Lessons from the Field • E. Ngwakongnwi1, MSc. MPH, B. Leung1 ND, MSc, D. Johnson2 MN, D. Cawthorpe3 Ph.D3, H. Quan1 MD Ph.D. • Dept of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Canada; 2) Alberta Health Services, Healthy Diverse Populations, Calgary, Canada; 3) Alberta Health Services, Psychiatry, Calgary, Canada • Address all correspondence to: engwakon@ucalgary.ca INTRODUCTION Homelessness is a major social problem around the world including Canada. Studies of homeless populations in Canada have found higher mortality rates in men and women; higher rates of hepatitis B and C, HIV infection, prevalence of pregnancy, mental health problems, and nutritional problems due to poor diet. A 2008 count of homeless people in Calgary found that 4,060 individuals were absolutely homeless, representing an 18.2 % rise from 2006. The purpose of this study was to assess perspectives of service providers on issues encountered in delivering services to homeless people, by identifying strategies that work and those that do not. RESULTS Table 2.Summary of service provider perspectives on challenges and actions for improving health services to homeless. CONCLUSION Table 1.Characteristics of study participants • Improving health services to homeless people requires a multi-faceted and well coordinated approach. There seems to be a common acknowledgement of gaps in health services for homeless persons especially related to early discharge from hospital with no-follow-up. • Rethinking the 2006 conference on homelessness and health: Following that conference, a series of actions have begun at the level of Calgary: • January 2007 the “Calgary Committee to End Homelessness” was established. • They have developed a 10 year plan to end homelessness in the city. • The plan designed for Calgary was delivered in mid-2008 • What next? • OBJECTIVES • To identify the issues, challenges, or barriers that hinder service delivery to homeless people in Calgary metropolitan area. • To suggest action steps to tackling homelessness and improving health status of homeless populations. METHODS Design: We used a convenient sample of participants at a ‘Diversity and Wellbeing Conference: Taking Action on Homelessness and Health’ held in Calgary, Canada on November 17, 2006. Data collection: A mixed methods approach was used to collect data. Firstly, a questionnaire assessed participant gender, role, level of contact, length of time serving homeless people; and perspectives on challenges, issues, and suggestions to improve services to homeless people. This information was supplemented by facilitated group discussions. Analysis: We used Qualitative Content Analysis (QCA) - This involved systematically picking out key words and phrases from the written content of the responses and grouping them into common themes or concepts. Emerging themes and concepts were discussed with other members of the project team to assess the information further before arriving at the over-arching themes. Acknowledgments/Funding: Funding for this project was provided by United Way of Calgary and Area, through Healthy Diverse Populations, Alberta Health Services