GIG - Examining the health situation of homeless people in Berlin 2

The number of people affected by homelessness in Germany is increasing. According to estimates of the Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Wohnungslosenhilfe e. V., the total number of homeless people in 2020 was close to 417,000. The precarious conditions under which this group of people lives, whether in emergency shelters, in buildings not intended for housing or in street homelessness, aggravate health deficiencies and provoke chronic diseases. Moreover, the pandemic situation of recent years has exacerbated this plight.

The predecessor project, GIG 1, explores the health care delivery system at the Jenny De la Torre foundation's health center for the homeless. The primary objective of the research project is to describe and analyze the social and health situation of homeless people in Berlin-Mitte in the period from 2006 to 2020.

In the context of our second research project "Health of homeless people in Berlin 2 - GIG 2" we would like to conduct a retrospective, anonymous survey of the patient data of the TagesTreff for the homeless and people in need in Berlin-Lichtenberg. Medical and socio-demographic parameters will also be recorded, in this case for the years 2006 - 2022. Both low-threshold, primary-care institutions together serve about one fifth of the homeless patients in Berlin. The aggregated analysis of both institutions intends to make representative statements about the health and social situation of this vulnerable group of people. In addition, it is hoped to obtain information on the prevalence of covid-19 and the vaccination status of this group.