Homelessness and mental illness.
A representative sample of men, newly arriving at a Salvation Army hostel, was interviewed and compared with the total resident group of men who had spent one year or more in the hostel. Thirty-one per cent fulfilled the diagnostic and statistical manual (DSM: 111R) criteria for a diagnosis of schizophrenia and more than half were not in contact with psychiatric services. This suggests that a significant number of male schizophrenics are lost to follow-up and become homeless. Implications for service provision are discussed in the light of these findings.
D004739:England; D006306:Health Surveys; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*