End of Life Care | Specialist care | End-of-life care for people experiencing homelessness

End-of-life care for people experiencing homelessness
Session overview
Description
This session explores some of the issues complexities that need to be considered when supporting people experiencing homelessness as they approach the end of their lives.

This session was reviewed by Caroline Shulman and Briony Hudson and was last updated in June 2024.

By the end of this session you will be able to:

• outline the physical and psychosocial issues affecting people experiencing homelessness
• describe the practical issues related to palliative and end-of-life care for people experiencing homelessness
• discuss how palliative and end-of-life care may be supported for people who are experiencing homelessness

People experiencing homelessness face significant health inequalities and poorer health outcomes than the rest of the population. They also face many barriers in accessing healthcare services, which can lead to individuals dying unsupported in undignified situations [1](read details regarding the reference).

Supporting the palliative care needs of people who are experiencing homelessness requires a multidisciplinary response focused on person-centred, trauma-informed approaches, continuity of care and building trusting relationships [2](read details regarding the reference). There is also a need for earlier identification of when to introduce this support as poor health can almost be normalised within the homeless population [3](read details regarding the reference).

This session explores the barriers to accessing care and some of the issues and complexities that need to be considered when supporting people experiencing homelessness as they approach the end of their lives.