Field notes of a qualitative pilot study of older homeless people in Cincinnati identified several barriers and aids to the study of homeless elders. Identified research barriers were researcher's lack of contextual wisdom (street smarts), locating elders, substance abuse, attrition, victimization, credibility of informants, and xenophobia. Identified research aids were friendliness of certain elders, openness of the researcher, attractive incentives in exchange for interviews, and service providers' willingness to share experiences.
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