Drug and alcohol use of the homeless within the Homeless Health Outreach Team: Is there an association between drug of choice and mental health diagnosis?

Abstract

Alcohol and drug use is commonly reported in homeless populations. The research aimed to identify drug use patterns of the Homeless Health Outreach Team (HHOT) clients, to look at the period and type of homelessness as well as to investigate wether there were any correlations between diagnosis and drug of choice. A chart audit was conducted of the case managed clients of HHOT. Fifty-four charts were reviewed. It was found that a high percentage of people used alcohol, cannabis, opioids, and amphetamines. However, there were no signifi cant correlations found between drug of choice and diagnosis.