Table 4 Cases illustrating the results of the analysis

Jane* was a woman without family or friends, diagnosed with schizophrenia. After a period of homelessness she lived in an assisted living facility. She died of colon cancer in a hospital aged 60. In the final two years of her life she had a small apartment and received assertive community treatment.

John is an illegal resident in the Netherlands aged 52, addicted to alcohol and drugs. Because of his bad health and with the support of a street doctor, he got permission to stay in a shelter. After a hospitalization, he moved to a nursing ward for people experiencing homelessness.

Mitch was a former offender, aged 56, diagnosed with an antisocial personality disorder and long-lasting and severe drugs abuse. He was a drugs dealer and had received several convictions for serious violent crimes. He had been living for some years with his wife in his own apartment and had been receiving assertive community treatment. He died in a hospice of oesophageal cancer.

Anthony was born with a mild intellectual disorder and was addicted to alcohol. Lived in a shelter for people with addiction problems or severe psychiatric problems with somatic complaints. Remarkably, Anthony still had close ties with his family: every day they met each other in his mother’s home to play games and drink beer. He died of throat cancer at the age of 53 in a hospice.

William is a friendly man aged 52. He is addicted to alcohol and drugs and his aggression regulation is distorted. He suffers from COPD and is oxygen dependent. He lives in a shelter for people experiencing homelessness with somatic health problems.

* Names are pseudonyms and bear no resemblance of those interviewed