How Does Organisational Literacy Impact Access to Health Care for Homeless Individuals?

This article describes a study that examined the experiences of 27 individuals who frequented an Open Access homeless shelter in Toronto, Canada. The overarching aim of this study was to map the social organisation of health care in Toronto, with particular regards to the ways in which literacy, or the lack of literacy, mediates the experiences of homeless individuals attempting to gain access to health care. While terms such as "literate" or "illiterate" might be seen to reflect an individual's level of acquired education or competence, critical social theorists argue that such terms instead more accurately reflect an individual's relative class or position within the social hierarchy.

Are institutional health policies exclusionary?

I examined the experiences of 27 individuals who frequented a homeless shelter in Toronto, Canada. Participants' personal accounts led to cumulative understandings of the exclusionary practices that are often perpetuated by institutional organizations. Many individuals perceived themselves as "pushed out" or excluded by the structures of health care services that purported to support and serve them.