Multiple sclerosis and housing insecurity or forcible displacement: A scoping review

There is an increasing number of people experiencing housing insecurity and forcible displacement globally. We perform a scoping review, searching PubMed (1 January 1990–30 June 2026) for the key terms “housing insecurity,” “inadequate housing,” “houselessness,” “homelessness,” “housing,” “forcible displacement,” “refugee,” “asylum seeker,” and “internal displacement,” focusing on the outcomes of persons with multiple sclerosis. We estimate the approximate number of persons with multiple sclerosis in these situations. The number of reports from persons with multiple sclerosis who experience housing insecurity, homelessness, or forcible displacement remains very limited compared to the high number of estimated persons with multiple sclerosis living in these circumstances. Among US veterans, homelessness was not significantly more common among those with multiple sclerosis than matched veterans without multiple sclerosis. Refugees with multiple sclerosis experience inaffordability of care. A larger, but distinct, literature examining exposure to armed conflict (war) finds increased relapse and magnetic resonance imaging disease activity in subsets of persons with multiple sclerosis during conflict as well as disruptions in access to multiple sclerosis care and treatment. Global geographic representation of these reports is limited. We recommend health systems–based and clinical approaches for persons with multiple sclerosis in times of vulnerability. More data are needed to understand the defined risks to persons with multiple sclerosis as well as inform and monitor a durable humanitarian approach to their care.