Participant characteristics (n = 19).

Having access to good quality housing is a key determinant of well-being. Little is known about experiences of housing quality following homelessness from the perspectives of persons with lived experience. To build on existing literature, we conducted a secondary analysis of qualitative interviews with 19 individuals who had experiences of transitioning to housing following homelessness. Interview transcripts were drawn from a community-based participatory research study exploring the conditions needed for thriving following homelessness in Ontario, Canada. We analyzed these transcripts using reflexive thematic analysis. We coded transcripts abductively, informed by theories of social justice and health equity. Consistent with reflexive thematic analysis, we identified a central essence to elucidate experiences of housing quality following homelessness: “negotiating control within oppressive structural contexts.” This was expressed through four distinct themes: 1) being forced to live in undesirable living conditions; 2) stuck in an unsafe environment; 3) negotiating power dynamics to attain comfort and safety in one’s housing; and 4) having access to people and resources that create home. Overall, our findings indicate that attaining good quality housing following homelessness is elusive for many and influenced by a range of structural factors including ongoing poverty following homelessness, a lack of deeply affordable housing stock, and a lack of available social support networks. To prevent homelessness, it is essential to improve access to good quality housing that can support tenancy sustainment and well-being following homelessness. Policymakers need to review existing housing policies and reflect on how over-reliance on market housing has imposed negative impacts on the lives of persons who are leaving homelessness. Given the current economic context, it is imperative that policymakers devise policies that mitigate the financialization of housing, and result in the restoration of the social housing system in Canada and beyond.

享有优质住房是决定个体福祉的关键因素。从无家可归亲历者的视角出发，学界对无家可归后住房质量体验的认知仍较为有限。为补充现有研究成果，我们对19名曾在无家可归后重返住房的个体开展的质性访谈进行了二次分析。本次访谈转录文本源自一项在加拿大安大略省开展的、旨在探究无家可归后个体实现蓬勃发展所需条件的基于社区的参与式研究（community-based participatory research）。我们采用反身性主题分析（reflexive thematic analysis）对转录文本进行分析：本研究以社会正义与健康公平理论为指导，对转录文本进行溯因编码。结合反身性主题分析的研究范式，我们提炼出阐释无家可归后住房质量体验的核心要义："negotiating control within oppressive structural contexts."。该核心要义可通过四大核心主题予以体现：1）被迫栖身于恶劣居住环境；2）困于不安全的居住场域；3）协商权力动态以谋求住房内的舒适与安全；4）获取能构建"家"之意义的人际与资源支持。总体而言，本研究结果显示，对多数无家可归者而言，重返优质住房仍是遥不可及的目标，且其受一系列结构性因素影响：包括无家可归后持续陷入贫困、深度可负担住房存量不足，以及可及社会支持网络匮乏。为预防无家可归现象发生，需优化优质住房的可及性，以助力无家可归者维持租住状态并改善其福祉。政策制定者需审视现行住房政策，反思过度依赖市场化住房对无家可归返乡群体生活造成的负面影响。结合当前经济形势，政策制定者亟需制定政策以缓解住房金融化趋势，推动加拿大乃至全球范围内社会住房体系的重建。