BACKGROUND: People experiencing homelessness are at increased risk of violence and abuse, however, there is insufficient knowledge about rates of inquiry or readiness of healthcare professionals to address violence and abuse among this population. This study aimed to explore healthcare professionals' experiences and perceptions of asking about violence and abuse among patients experiencing homelessness.

METHODS: This study used a qualitative, interpretive, and exploratory design. We performed focus group discussions with healthcare professionals (n = 22) working at an integrative healthcare unit for people experiencing homelessness. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, following Braun and Clarke's six-phase approach. Findings are reported according to the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) checklist.

RESULTS: The overarching theme of the analysis is that addressing violence and abuse is at risk of "falling through the cracks". The theme is supported by three sub-themes: Hesitance to address violence and abuse, The complex dynamics of violence and abuse in homelessness, and Challenges in addressing violence and abuse amidst competing priorities and collaborative efforts. The normalisation of violence and abuse within the context of homelessness perpetuates a "cycle" where the severity and urgency of addressing violence and abuse are overlooked or minimised, hindering effective interventions. Moreover, healthcare professionals themselves may inadvertently contribute to this normalisation. The hesitance expressed by healthcare professionals in addressing the issue further reinforces the prevailing belief that violence and abuse are inherent aspects of homelessness. This normalisation within the healthcare system adds another layer of complexity to addressing these issues effectively.

CONCLUSIONS: The findings underscore the need for targeted interventions and coordinated efforts that not only address the immediate physical needs of people experiencing homelessness but also challenge and reshape the normalised perceptions surrounding violence and abuse. By prioritising awareness, education, and supportive interventions, we can begin to "break the cycle" and provide a safer environment where violence and abuse are not accepted or overlooked.

Background: People in homelessness have an increased risk of substance use disorders (SUDs) and poor health outcomes. This cohort study aimed to investigate the association between homelessness and mortality in people with SUDs, adjusting for age, sex, narcotic use, intravenous drug use and inpatient care for SUDs.

Methods: Data from the Swedish National Addiction Care Quality Register in the Stockholm region were used to analyse mortality risk in people with SUDs (n=8397), including 637 in homelessness, 1135 in precarious housing and 6625 in stable housing, at baseline. HRs and CIs were calculated using Cox regression.

Results: Mortality was increased for people in homelessness (HR 2.30; 95% CI 1.70 to 3.12) and precarious housing (HR 1.23; 95% CI 0.86 to 1.75) compared with those in stable housing. The association between homelessness and mortality decreased (HR 1.27; 95% CI 0.91 to 1.78) after adjusting for narcotic use (HR 1.28; 95% CI 1.00 to 1.63), intravenous drug use (HR 1.98; 95% CI 1.52 to 2.58) and inpatient care for SUDs (HR 1.96; 95% CI 1.57 to 2.45). Standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) showed that mortality among people in homelessness with SUDs was 13.6 times higher than the general population (SMR=13.6; 95% CI 10.2 to 17.9), and 3.7 times higher in people in stable housing with SUDs (SMR=3.7; 95% CI 3.2 to 4.1).

Conclusion: Homelessness increased mortality, but the risk decreased after adjusting for narcotic use, intravenous drug use and inpatient care for SUDs. Interventions are needed to reduce excess mortality among people in homelessness with SUDs.

Low health literacy (HL) has been linked to low self-rated health, reduced efficacy of behaviour change, and challenges in preventing, treating, or managing health conditions. People experiencing homelessness are at risk of poor HL; however, few studies have investigated HL in relation to mental and spiritual well-being among people experiencing homelessness in general, or women experiencing homelessness specifically. This cross-sectional study of 46 women experiencing homelessness in Stockholm, Sweden, recruited during the period October 2019–December 2020, aimed to examine how HL was associated with mental and spiritual well-being among women experiencing homelessness. Participants answered questions about socio-demographic characteristics (age, length of homelessness, education) and digital technology (mobile phone/the Internet) use, in addition to Swedish language versions of three questionnaires administered through structured, face-to-face interviews: the Communicative and Critical Health Literacy Scale, the General Health Questionnaire 12 and the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being. Data were analysed using linear regression, which revealed statistically significant associations between HL and mental well-being (p = .009), and between HL and spiritual well-being (p = .022). However, neither socio-demographic characteristics nor digital technology use were significantly associated with HL. In conclusion, promoting HL may improve mental and spiritual well-being in this vulnerable population. An advisory board of women with lived experiences of homelessness (n = 5) supported the interpretation of the findings and emphasised the need to consider HL in relation to basic needs such as ‘housing first’. Moreover, health information and services should be accessible to people with different degrees of HL.

BACKGROUND: The population of women in homelessness in Europe is increasing and women in homelessness experience multiple healthcare needs. However, there is insufficient understanding about how perceptions of caring behaviours compare between women in homelessness as patients and nurses in their clinical practice.

AIM: This study aimed to investigate perceptions of caring behaviours among women in homelessness, Registered Nurses and nursing students.

METHODS: A cross-sectional design was used with convenience sampling to recruit groups of women in homelessness (n = 37), Registered Nurses (n = 92) and nursing students (n = 142) in Stockholm, Sweden. Between August 2019 and December 2020, data were collected through face-to-face interviews or online, using the Caring Behaviours Inventory-24 instrument. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and group-comparing hypothesis tests.

RESULTS: Overall, women in homelessness' perceptions of caring behaviours were significantly lower than nursing students (p < 0.001), who in turn scored significantly lower than Registered Nurses (p < 0.001). The Knowledge and Skill domain had the highest score, and the Connectedness domain had the lowest score in all three groups. The ranking of the individual items according to score varied between the groups. However, all three groups had the highest score for the Knowing how to give shots, IVs, etc., item and the lowest score for the Helping the patient to grow item.

CONCLUSION: Healthcare providers and nurse educators should consider incongruences and congruences in caring behaviours to better prepare Registered Nurses and nursing students to contribute to increased health equity, and more targeted clinical practice for women in homelessness.

The role of Everyday Technology (ET) use is presented as subsidiary or neutral in policy for age- and dementia-friendly communities; and yet, research suggests that older people, especially those with dementia, experience increased challenges using ET in their everyday lives. Through the lens of micro-citizenship, the study aims to deepen the knowledge about how use of ET outside the home, including portable ETs, relates to participation in places visited within public space among people with dementia over time. Using a longitudinal study design, 35 people with dementia were recruited at baseline and followed over three years. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews using standardised questionnaires: the Participation in ACTivities and Places OUTside Home Questionnaire (ACT-OUT) and the Everyday Technology Use Questionnaire (ETUQ). Random intercept modelling and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Throughout the three-year study, decreasing use of ET outside the home, including portable ETs, was associated with decreasing participation in places visited within public space, in a statistically significant way when controlling for age (F = 7.59, p = 0.01). The findings indicate that facilitating access and use of ET outside the home, among people with dementia, should be integral to promoting and maintaining participation in age- and dementia-friendly communities.

The physical environment plays an important role in how everyday life is shaped and experienced for persons living in nursing homes as well as for the residents' family and friends. Still, there is a scarcity of research exploring the perspectives of family members of residents regarding everyday life in common areas in nursing homes. In this study, we chose the term, 'a pleasant place', with the ambition of remaining open to various ideas and aspects that family members perceive as relevant when reasoning about the nursing home environment. The study aimed to explore how family members of nursing home residents reason in relation to pleasant places in nursing homes. Four focus group sessions were conducted with a total of 14 family members. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The analysis resulted in four themes. 'A door ajar', highlighted the importance of a nursing home environment that provides potential opportunities for pleasurable everyday moments. 'Why does it have to be so ugly?', revealed how family members perceived institutional logics as guiding the design of the nursing homes, which were misaligned with the logics of a pleasant place. 'A place to care for?', emphasised the physical environment as an integrated aspect of care, in terms of being carefully arranged and used with sensitivity. Finally, 'allegiance to the place' showed that despite the family members' recognitions of shortcomings in the nursing home physical environments, their allegiance to the place provided a sense of the nursing home as a pleasant place. The study contributes knowledge regarding the perceived value of the design of the physical environment in nursing homes, particularly in common areas, as an integral aspect of care, and moves beyond the ideas of homelike and non-institutional nursing home environments.

Social participation in out-of-home activities is important for people living with dementia, yet little is known about such participation. The aim of this study was to explore and compare out-of-home participation among people living with dementia in four countries by assessing different types of places of participation visited or no longer visited. A cross-sectional design was used to gather self-reported experiences concerning out-of-home participation among people with mild stage dementia living in Canada (n = 29), Sweden (n = 35), Switzerland (n = 35) and the UK (n = 64). Interviews were conducted using the Participation in ACTivities and places OUTside the Home for older adults (ACT-OUT) instrument. Participants still visited 16 (Median) places out of a possible total of 24, and they had abandoned 5 (Median) places. Neighbourhood was the place most participants still visited, whereas 50% of them had stopped going to a Sports facility, with no significant differences between country samples regarding how many participants had abandoned that place (Fisher's exact test, p > 0.01). There were significant differences between country samples in the frequency of present participation and abandonment of the Hospital, Dentist's office, Cemetery, Garden, and Forest (Fisher's exact test, all p < 0.01). Although the participants still visited a variety of places, they had stopped going to places previously visited, which indicates reductions in participation, posing an inherent risk to well-being. The similarities and differences across samples from the four countries suggest that healthcare services and access to public transport may contribute to the complex interactional process of out-of-home participation for people living with dementia. The findings highlight the need for initiatives targeting specific types of places to support continued participation in society, especially places at a higher risk of abandonment such as places for recreation and physical activity.

There is limited empirical knowledge about how older adults living with dementia enact their social citizenship through out-of-home participation. This study aimed: (a) to investigate out-of-home participation among older adults with and without dementia in four countries and (b) to compare aspects of stability or change in out-of-home participation. Using a cross-sectional design, older adults with mild-to-moderate dementia and without dementia, aged 55 years and over, were interviewed using the Participation in ACTivities and Places OUTside the Home questionnaire in Canada (n = 58), Sweden (n = 69), Switzerland (n = 70), and the United Kingdom (n = 128). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a two-way analysis of variance. After adjustment for age, diagnosis of dementia and country of residence had significant effects on total out-of-home participation (p < .01). The results contribute to policies and development of programs to facilitate social citizenship by targeting specific activities and places.

BACKGROUND: Women experiencing homelessness have complex and multifaceted healthcare needs and yet they are an underserved population across healthcare services. Nurses are trained to perform an integral role in the provision of equitable healthcare and their attitudes towards homelessness may therefore influence the care that women experiencing homelessness receive. This study aimed to examine correlations between attitudes towards homelessness and caring behaviours, and to test if these correlations differed between the groups of women experiencing homelessness, registered nurses, and nursing students.

METHODS: A cross-sectional design using convenience sampling was used to recruit women experiencing homelessness (n = 37), registered nurses (n = 90), and nursing students (n = 138) in Stockholm, Sweden between August 2019 and December 2020. The participants answered two questionnaires: the Attitudes Toward Homelessness Inventory and the Caring Behaviours Inventory-24. Correlations between ordinal variables were calculated using Spearman's rank correlation ρ. Tests of equality between two independent correlations were performed using a Z-test applied to Fisher's z-transformed correlations. An advisory board of women with lived experience of homelessness supported the interpretation of the results.

RESULTS: Weak, negative correlations were identified between the Attitudes Toward Homelessness Inventory and Caring Behaviours Inventory-24. The Attitudes Toward Homelessness Inventory mean total scores (SD) were 4.1 (0.6), 4.2 (0.6), 4.1 (0.5) points for the women experiencing homelessness, registered nurse, and nursing student groups, respectively, with the corresponding scores for the Caring Behaviours Inventory-24 being 4.1 (1.1), 5.2 (0.5), 4.8 (0.7) points, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: To promote equitable health for women experiencing homelessness, healthcare providers and nurse educators should consider the role of stigmatising attitudes in relation to caring behaviours.