Lack of support for young homeless parents, report warns
A study, which analysed attendance data at the paediatric emergency department of a Dublin hospital over a four-year period, found that homeless children were younger in general than other children attending the ED.
A quarter of homeless children who attended the paediatric emergency department of a Dublin hospital over a four-year period were aged under 12 months.
The figures were revealed by the authors of a report who warned that it may reflect a lack of community support for young homeless parents.
The study, which analysed attendance data for the years 2017 to 2020 inclusive, also found that homeless children were younger in general than other children attending the ED, less likely to be ethnically Irish, and were more than twice as likely to require an ambulance to bring them to hospital.
The research was conducted by a four-person team led by Dr Niamh O'Brien of the Paediatric Emergency Medicine department, Children's Health Ireland at Temple Street, Dublin.
Of the 197,437 total attendances at the unit over the time period, 3,138 (1.59%) were homeless.
It also found that homeless children were younger than the general cohort, with 26% aged under 12 months compared to 16% of the general admission sample.
The study said: "Homeless children were younger than non-homeless children. A baby is a known trigger for family homelessness. Over-representation of infants in the homeless cohort may reflect a lack of community support for young homeless parents."
It said there were fewer admissions for homeless children to hospital, and that homeless children were over-represented in non-urgent medical categories.
They were also less likely than non-homeless children to attend with injuries (19% vs 29.9% of non-homeless children), but more likely to attend with viral respiratory illness.
"Homeless children were more likely to leave ED prior to assessment," the report, published in the British Medical Paediatrics Journal, said.
