Mortality rates are three to 10 times higher among homeless men and six to 10 times higher among homeless women compared to the general population.
In what is described as the first Irish study of its type, researchers found that drugs and alcohol were implicated in almost six of 10 deaths.
The study documented and verified 201 deaths of homeless people in Dublin over a five-year period, 156 (78%) males and 45 females.
“Mortality rates among homeless persons are exceptionally high,” concludes the study, published in the British medical journal Open. “Services and programmes, particularly housing and those targeting overdose and alcoholism, are urgently needed to prevent premature mortality in this vulnerable population.”
The research, commissioned by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, looked at 209 recorded deaths between 2011 and 2015 and verified 201 of them.
Source: Cormac O'Keeffe, The Irish Examiner, 29/01/19
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