The health diagnoses of homeless adolescents: A systematic review of the literature

BackgroundHomelessness during adolescence impacts negatively upon young people's physical and mental wellbeing. To be effective, programs aimed at addressing the health needs of this population must include knowledge of both the presenting and underlying acute and chronic conditions that characterise this high risk group of youth.MethodsWe undertook a systematic review of the international literature for studies that used validated instruments and techniques to diagnose prevalence rates of physical and mental health disorders in homeless adolescents.ResultsTwenty-one studies fulfilled the selection criteria. Of these, nine studies examined mental health diagnoses including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and substance abuse disorders. With one exception, the remaining twelve studies all related to sexually transmitted infections.ConclusionHomeless adolescents are diagnosed with widely varying rates of mental health disorders and high rates of sexually transmitted infection. Other likely chronic and acute physical conditions appear to be neglected in the published research.