Biomaterial Database

Health and street/ homeless youth. 2007

Katharine Kelly, and Tullio Caputo

Department of Sociology & Anthropology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 5B6, Canada. Katharine_Kelly@carleton.ca

This article reviews the Canadian literature on health issues for homeless/street youth couched in terms of the broad determinants of health. A description of the target population is presented, followed by a discussion of the health risks associated with living in marginal and precarious situations ;on the street'. In particular, the potential consequences of engaging in the risky and often dangerous activities (e.g. substance abuse and high-risk sex) associated with the street lifestyle are discussed. Key conclusions drawn from the relevant literature are taken into consideration in a final section that includes a discussion of the policy implications of this work.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008019	Life Style	Typical way of life or manner of living characteristic of an individual or group. (From APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed)	Lifestyle Factors,Life Style Induced Illness,Lifestyle,Factor, Lifestyle,Life Styles,Lifestyle Factor,Lifestyles
D011593	Psychology, Social	The branch of psychology concerned with the effects of group membership upon the behavior, attitudes, and beliefs of an individual.	Social Psychology,Psychology, Perceptual,Perceptual Psychology
D002170	Canada	The largest country in North America, comprising 10 provinces and three territories. Its capital is Ottawa.
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000293	Adolescent	A person 13 to 18 years of age.	Adolescence,Youth,Adolescents,Adolescents, Female,Adolescents, Male,Teenagers,Teens,Adolescent, Female,Adolescent, Male,Female Adolescent,Female Adolescents,Male Adolescent,Male Adolescents,Teen,Teenager,Youths
D012946	Social Welfare	Organized institutions which provide services to ameliorate conditions of need or social pathology in the community.	Community Services,Services, Community,Community Service,Service, Community,Welfare, Social
D054624	Health Status Disparities	Variation in rates of disease occurrence and disabilities between population groups defined by various factors including socioeconomic characteristics (see SOCIOECONOMIC DISPARITIES IN HEALTH), age, ethnicity, economic resources, or gender and populations identified geographically or similar measures.	Health Status Disparity,Disparity, Health Status
D018453	Homeless Youth	Runaway and homeless children and adolescents living on the streets of cities and having no fixed place of residence.	Homeless Children,Street Children,Street Youth,Homeless Child,Runaways,Street Child,Child, Homeless,Child, Street,Children, Homeless,Children, Street,Homeless Youths,Runaway,Youth, Homeless,Youth, Street,Youths, Homeless,Youths, Street
D018570	Risk Assessment	The qualitative or quantitative estimation of the likelihood of adverse effects that may result from exposure to specified health hazards or from the absence of beneficial influences. (Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 1988)	Assessment, Risk,Benefit-Risk Assessment,Risk Analysis,Risk-Benefit Assessment,Health Risk Assessment,Risks and Benefits,Analysis, Risk,Assessment, Benefit-Risk,Assessment, Health Risk,Assessment, Risk-Benefit,Benefit Risk Assessment,Benefit-Risk Assessments,Benefits and Risks,Health Risk Assessments,Risk Analyses,Risk Assessment, Health,Risk Assessments,Risk Benefit Assessment,Risk-Benefit Assessments