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Health in hostels: a survey of hostel dwelling women

Royal College of Psychiatrists' Research Unit, London SW1X

Richard Harvey, Clinical Research Fellow

The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London WC1N 3BG

Deirdre Bonner, Consultant Psychiatrist^*

West London Healthcare NHS Trust, Uxbridge Road, Southall, Middlesex UB1 3EU

^* Correspondence

Direct access residents in an inner London homeless women's hostel were interviewed and asked to provide information on medical, personal and social history. For each a DSM-III-R diagnosis, General Health Questionnaire, CAGE and Global Assessment Scale score was assigned, and their views on future housing were sought. The effect of severe mental illness (SMI) and age on dependent variables was examined. A third of the sample (n=14) suffered from SMI, and a further quarter from other mental illness (n=10). A quarter had a DSM-III-R substance misuse disorder. The prevalence of SMI was similar across age groups. Younger women had a different pattern of service needs, with greater levels of psychological distress, substance misuse and residential instability, than older residents.