Understanding the relationship between homelessness and gambling harms in Scotland

This project will use a mixed-methods, multidisciplinary and multi-sector approach to build knowledge about the drivers of gambling participation and risk factors of gambling harms for people experiencing homelessness across Scotland. We will conduct a rapid evidence review of the literature and carry out in-depth interviews with the homeless community. This will be supplemented with secondary data analysis based on unique data collected by Simon Community Scotland. The findings and recommendations from the review and analysis will be shared at a series of workshops with policy and decision makers across Scotland to help inform treatment provision and enable knowledge exchange.

The project lead is Dr Alex Kwong (Division of Psychiatry) at the University of Edinburgh.