The global research community has rallied around developing resources to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The rate at which studies are being published is staggering with compendiums of academic research collated by organisations like the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) exceeding 13,000 studies. 

In order to facilitate access to the best research on the intersection between homelessness and COVID-19, we are launching the COVID-19 Homelessness Research Database.

This is a curated database including information and links to the latest academic articles on the relationship between COVID-19 and Homelessness. It was built using information from the COVID-19 Research Articles Downloadable Database which includes articles compiled by the World Health Organisation, LitCovid, and other relevant databases. We searched these databases for studies related to homelessness and complemented the list with a search for other grey literature using Google Scholar. We will update the database periodically, but the pace at which new research is being produced means that this database may not include all studies published at any given point. 

The database, as of Friday 17 April, includes 15 publications. Particularly noteworthy are two studies published by Travis Baguett, a medical doctor and researcher at the Institute for Research, Quality, and Policy in Homeless Health Care, and colleagues. One of the pieces describes an outbreak of COVID-19 in a homeless shelter in Boston, and a second piece that suggests a considerably higher incidence of cases among people living in homelessness in the Boston area, in comparison to the population at large. Eight articles include commentaries on the risks posed by COVID-19 on this population, including references to those with acute mental illnesses and children living in temporary accommodation. The database also includes four articles that describe guidelines used in the United States and one article provides quantitative projections for the number of quarantine units needed by county in the United States.  

Access the database here

If you are working on academic articles related to COVID-19 and homelessness, we would love to hear from you to include them in the  COVID-19-Homelessness Research Database. If you have any questions or suggestions, please get in touch with covid19response@homelessnessimpact.org.