[Homelessness as a determinant of health and its impact on quality of life].

OBJECTIVE

To determine the health status of the homeless population who spend the night on the streets and in shelters (extreme residential exclusion), with reference to their quality of life, self-perceived health, comorbidity and access to health resources.

METHOD: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out on a sample of 263 homeless people in the city of Valencia by means of a nocturnal count and using the EQ-5D-3L Health Related Quality of Life questionnaire and questions from the European Quality of Life Survey for Spain.

RESULTS

Of the people who participated in the study, 129 of them slept outdoors, 49% (62.79% men, 19.37% women and 17.84% unidentified), while 134 slept in hostels, i.e. 51% (67.16% men and 32.84% women) with an estimated average age of 41.53 years and 55% had been living on the street for less than 12 months. People staying overnight on the streets presented worse quality of life and more than a quarter of the sample lacked a health card.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a relationship between homelessness and poor health conditions in terms of quality of life, perceived health, comorbidity and accessibility to health to resources. The inverse care law is evidenced.