GeWo-Bay Study

Researchers from the Department of Social Work at THA aim to answer these questions through the exploratory field study “GeWo-Bay.”

Homelessness is one of the most extreme forms of poverty. The extremely precarious living conditions of those affected generally lead to significant health disparities. Various national and international studies show significantly higher rates of physical and mental illness among people who are homeless or lack stable housing than in the general population. In addition, untreated and chronic conditions, multiple diagnoses (comorbidity), and a lack of health insurance coverage are frequently observed among those affected.

Providing health care to homeless and housing-insecure people is therefore a challenging task both for society as a whole and, in particular, for medical and psychosocial professionals. It is evident that the standard healthcare system is rarely or inadequately utilized by homeless and housing-insecure individuals and therefore by no means adequately serves this population. For this reason, various medical services for homeless and housing-insecure individuals now exist outside the standard healthcare system, such as medical street outreach or medical clinics in emergency shelters.

A certain degree of (regional) complexity can be observed in this parallel structure of health care. To date, only a few isolated studies have been conducted on this topic, meaning that there is hardly any systematic knowledge available—rather, knowledge is predominantly regional and based on implicit practical experience—a situation that also applies to the state of Bavaria.

This is where the GeWo-Bay study aims to intervene, specifically expanding the previously dominant medical research to include a social science (and social work) perspective on healthcare for homeless and housing-insecure people in Bavaria.

In this exploratory field study, selected regions will serve as case studies to examine how homeless people in Bavaria do or do not use health care services, what barriers, needs, and gaps in care exist, and what structural conditions and mechanisms underlie these phenomena. To this end, primarily qualitative research methods (including interviews, focus groups, and participant observation) will be used to capture the perspectives of both professionals and homeless individuals. Ultimately, the study’s findings are intended to provide a basis for expanding needs-based and tailored assistance in the form of actionable recommendations and professional guidance.

Project Management

Project Members

External Partners

Funding