Enumerating deaths among homeless persons: comparison of medical examiner data and shelter-based reports--Fulton County, Georgia, 1991.

Characteristics of causes of death and mortality patterns in homeless populations have been constrained by limitations in both the accuracy of estimates of the size of the homeless population and enumeration of the number of deaths of homeless persons (1,2). For example, studies of mortality among homeless persons in Fulton County (Atlanta), Georgia, based on medical examiner records estimated approximately 40 deaths of homeless persons annually (1,3); in contrast, a media report based on information supplied by shelters for homeless persons reported 191 deaths of homeless persons in Atlanta during 1991 (4,5). As a basis for improving characterization of mortality patterns in the homeless population of Fulton County, Emory University and CDC assessed the differences in the estimates of deaths among homeless persons that were obtained from medical examiner records and those based on death reports from shelters that are in or adjacent to Fulton County (1990 population: 648,951) during 1991. This report summarizes the findings of that study.