People experiencing homelessness have higher rates of chronic illness, chronic injury, infectious disease, mental illness, and substance use disorders (JAMA, O'Connell, 2016; HCUP, Sun, 2017). Comparing chronically homeless to their housed counterparts, these health disparities result in a 25-year decrease in life expectancy (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2009).
The aim of this project is to better understand how homeless people experience the healthcare system as well as medication access barriers and current unmet needs in order to design interventions to better serve this population.