From nowhere to nowhere. Homelessness and incarceration: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: This study aims to review international literature systematically to estimate the prevalence of homelessness among incarcerated persons at the time of imprisonment and the time of discharge.

Design/methodology/approach: A systematic review methodology was used to identify quantitative observational studies that looked at the prevalence of homelessness at the time of imprisonment, or up to 30 days prior to that point (initial homelessness), and at the time of discharge from prisons. Studies reported in English from inception to 11 September 2019 were searched for using eight databases (PsycInfo, Medline, Embase, CINAHL, PsycArticles, Scopus, Web of Science and the Campbell Collaboration), in addition to grey literature.