title: Homelessness as viewed by incarcerated women: participatory research.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this paper is to describe the development, by incarcerated women who were members of a prison participatory health research team, of a survey tool regarding homelessness and housing, the survey findings and recommendations for policy.
  
  
  METHODS
  A survey was developed by incarcerated women in a minimum/medium security women's prison in Canada. Associations were examined between socio-demographic factors and reports of difficulty finding housing upon release, homelessness contributing to a return to crime, and a desire for relocation to another city upon release. Open-ended questions were examined to look for recurrent themes and to illuminate the survey findings.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 83 women completed the survey, a 72 per cent response rate. Of the 71 who were previously incarcerated, 56 per cent stated that homelessness contributed to their return to crime. Finding housing upon release was a problem for 63 per cent and 34 per cent desired relocation to another city upon release. Women indicated that a successful housing plan should incorporate flexible progressive staged housing.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study focuses only on incarcerated women but could be expanded in future to include men.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Incarcerated women used the findings to create a housing proposal for prison leavers and created a resource database of the limited housing resources for women prison leavers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Lack of suitable housing is a major factor leading to recidivism. This study highlights the reality of the cycle of homelessness, poverty, crime for survival, street-life leading to drug use and barriers to health, education and employment that incarcerated women face.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Housing is a recognized basic determinant of health. No previous studies have used participatory research to address homelessness in a prison population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Practice, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. ruth.martin@familymed.ubc.ca
authors.forename: Ruth Elwood
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Debra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hanson
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hemingway
authors.forename: Vivian
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ramsden
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Buxton
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Granger-Brown
authors.forename: Lara-Lisa
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Condello
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Macaulay
authors.forename: Patti
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Janssen
authors.forename: T Gregory
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Hislop
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002170:Canada; D055812:Community-Based Participatory Research; D005260:Female; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006798:Housing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012107:Research Design; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Canada; Homelessness; Housing; Individual behaviour; Participatory research; Prisons; Women