Exploring the complexity of need within an ageing homeless population

There has been an increase in the number of older homeless people living in Australia. Of the 105,237 people who were classified as being homeless in Australia on Census night 2011, 26 per cent were aged 45 years or older and 14 per cent were aged 55 years or older. Of those aged 55 years or older, 21 per cent were living in improvised dwellings, tents or sleeping out and 27 per cent were living in boarding houses. With the increase in service demand to support the ageing population there also emerges an increased need for research evidence to identify the antecedents of homelessness within this population, their specialised support needs and to investigate effective care delivery models. It is crucial that the evidence collected is accurate and truly representative of this population. This article will explore the idiosyncrasies, pit falls and challenges presented to researchers who aim to study a representative sample of older homeless individuals.