Health needs audit

This page tells you about Homeless Link's Health Needs Audit project, which offers a practical way to gather and respond to evidence about the health needs of homeless people.

Between March 2009 and 2011, Homeless Link worked with a range of pilot sites across England to develop and test an audit tool to enable local areas to evidence the health needs of their clients.

The audit was developed to respond to the gap in evidence about homeless people’s health. Homeless people are often excluded from routine health assessments, yet can experience the highest and costliest health needs in a local community. Addressing health inequalities is a key priority for local communities and health services, but to do this, localities need a good evidence base about their health needs and the services they use. The audit provides a framework for gathering this information and working in partnership to respond to it locally.

To find out more please visit:

• The Health Audit toolkit which gives you practical steps and materials to undertake an audit in your area
• The report, The Health and Well Being of Homeless People: Evidence from a national audit, provides a picture of homeless health at a national level drawing on the combined data from the audit pilots. It was published in October 2010.
• Work in Public Health? Or are you an agency that wants to find out more about Joint Strategic Needs Assesments? Visit out JSNA page to read about how to get homeless people included in local health needs assessments.