Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background Housing is a key social determinant of health, yet little is known about how homelessness shapes migrants’ health in Nordic welfare states where legal status, labour market attachment and welfare entitlements are unevenly distributed. This article examines how homelessness directly and indirectly affects the physical and mental health of migrants, and how structural barriers limit their capacity to navigate access to health care. Methods Mixed-methods study combining registry data on shelter use in Oslo (2019–2023) and interviews with ten frontline health and social care staff at a long-term, NGO-run shelter. Analyses were informed by precarious citizenship and structural vulnerability. Results Homeless migrants represented a heterogeneous group in terms of citizenship status and health problems. Migrants’ region of origin influenced their resident status, the uncertainty of their situation, and the duration of their stay. Homelessness interacted with migrants’ pre-existing vulnerabilities, such as precarious legal status, limited finances, language barriers, lack of digital access to social services, and untreated chronic disease, to accelerate health decline. Precarious citizenship can be enacted through gendered arenas of exploitation, with consequences for safety, access to care and possibilities for recovery. Conclusions Homelessness among migrants reflects structural vulnerability and produces cumulative disadvantage. Homelessness is not simply a backdrop to migrant ill-health; it is an active health risk that exacerbates disease, disrupts treatment, and limits recovery. Shelters and low-threshold services play a crucial bridging role by enabling access to treatment and rehabilitation. Addressing migrant health inequities requires rights-based approaches and integrated policies linking housing stability and health care access. Key messages • Homelessness is not simply a backdrop to migrant ill-health; it is an active health risk that exacerbates disease, disrupts treatment, and limits recovery. • Addressing migrant health inequities requires rights-based approaches and integrated policies linking housing stability and health care access.
Authors: F Eick, SØ Jahnsen
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,181
OpenAlex ID: W7223669780