Public Health and Homelessness - Essay Example

Public Health and Homelessness One of the most widespread social and public health problems is homelessness, which describes the state when marginalized people are unable to have easy access to any kind of permanent dwelling or residence (Babatsikou 66). At present around three million people in the US have no place to live in, and some suffer chronic illnesses that do not heal due to their inability to have health checkups or other forms of care (Baggett, OConnell and Singer). Due to the need to address the health issues of the unaddressed sectors of society such as homeless, public health professionals lobby the use of a broad perspective in the public health sector, wherein focus on the causes of these health issues as well as observed trends in the issues would be used to solve such problems (Krieger and Higgins 758; Meyer and Schwartz 1191). Connections between the rates of homelessness and the low quality of health among these people have been established by several studies in order to bring awareness to the readers as well as other medical professionals with regards to the increased health risks of the homeless as compared to people with permanent and secure dwelling places. The selection of test subjects in homelessness and public health studies were mostly done using certain criteria such as determination of residential status using the Homeless History Form (Caton 258), secondary analyses of the 2003 Health Care for the Homeless User Survey (Baggett), the use of socio-demographic characteristics of homeless people compared to a control setup (Meyer and Schwartz 1191), as well as conducting a community assessment of places where the test subjects reside (Krieger and Higgins 762). Various assessment methods were done in order to determine the statistics of homelessness based on different grounds. Also, since the reasons for being homeless as well as the effects of it can vary from person to person, it is also relevant to include other types of assessments to prevent the data from becoming too biased. This kind of data gathering was able to generate a much clearer perspective as to what kind of health risks homeless people become subjected to, as well as showing how these risks were considerably high as compared to non-homeless test subjects. While the methods for assessing the health risks of the homeless were different in each of the case studies that were done, all of the papers were able to corroborate the strong impact of homelessness to a sharp increase in health risks. It was mentioned that due to the lack of access to a safe place to rest, these people increased their chances of getting respiratory problems due to exposure to the elements (Baggett; Caton 260; Krieger and Higgins 764; Meyer and Schwartz 1191). Also, by constantly moving around, these same people decrease their chances of having their health problems addressed promptly by hospitals, and were more likely to suffer due to the accumulation of unchecked health problems, as compared to people that remained in a single neighborhood and had access to sound residential areas (Babatsikou 66; Baggett; Caton 260; Meyer and Schwartz 1191). The studies were thus able to reflect the strongest risk factors for having poor health: the lack of a comfortable and permanent place of residence; the continuous exposure to environmental hazards due to homelessness; and the lack of constant medical attention due to the aforementioned conditions. While homelessness is a world-wide problem that needs to get taken care of, this paper notes that not only to underdeveloped countries have these kinds of problems, but also highly-developed nations. The studies referenced previously were mostly conducted within the US, in order to show that the problem of homelessness is also a real situation in a developed country. The authors also collectively argued that problems with regards to the housing sectors added to the burden of the increase in the number of homeless people, and that by denying them access to clean, safe homes means that their chances of remaining healthy are also affected (Babatsikou 66; Krieger and Higgins 764). Through the intervention of the housing sectors, a crucial step in jumpstarting the improvement of the state of public health could take place, which would eventually help in decreasing the numbers of the homeless, as well as their risks of getting health problems (Babatsikou 66). The studies were more or less able to agree to the major contribution of having a permanent place to reside in the improvement of public health. In most of the studies used for this paper, the fact that homelessness is a strong deterrent for remaining healthy has been given particular emphasis on. However, even if the arguments were rather strong, and the response rates for the surveys were quite high, having around 70%, the results were still subjected to strong biases of the respondents (Baggett). This is because aside from the difficulties in finding a large sample size of willing participants, most of the social problems that were present at the beginning become treated in a scientific way, thus instead of approaching the problem and being taken as the social problems that they are, the arguments being used on these problems become less humanistic and more of having an experimental nature (Meyer and Schwartz 1191). This kind of treatment in a way disregards the added uncertainties that could happen as a result of human nature, leading to further discrepancies in the projected results. The available literature with regards to the connection of public health and the rates of homelessness can go back as early as the 1980’s. However, due to the different priorities of the government, as well as the increasing disparities between the affluent and the marginalized, the health issues of the homeless were not only a health problem, but also social issues that needed to be solved (Meyer and Schwartz 1189). Thus, even after several decades of being recognized as a risk factor in developing health problems, the interrelated problem of homelessness and poor public health status still remains until today. Some reflections with regards to the literature and the topic for this paper are related to the strong connection of homelessness to high health risks, as well as homelessness not just a health issue but also a public issue that needs to be addressed. Based on the analyses of the authors, in order to improve the health of the people, problems such as homelessness, along with poverty must be eliminated. In relation to this, education as well as increased facilities that give assistance to the marginalized sectors of society must also be reconsidered, especially by people in power. Aside from the disproportionate numbers of medical personnel to attend to the needs of the population, especially the homeless patients, these same patients must also be aware of what they can do in order to keep them healthy despite their economic status. This is for them to realize that they are also capable to thinking for themselves, as well as having a considerable amount of control over their health. Also, educating them could convince them to not keep moving out of shelters and living in the streets, especially when they get exposed to much more health hazards outside than indoors. Another is the disturbing increase in the number of homeless people should be more than enough motivation for the government to do their part in alleviating the conditions of these people. Lastly, the author gains a stronger personal conviction of helping the underprivileged because they also have rights to a healthy life, and by helping the people that needed medical attention the most, not only do the homeless and the needy become recognized for what they are, but also it gives them the chance to live well. With the help of medical personnel that are willing to do things beyond their line of duty, not only does healing of the body take place, but also the empowerment of both parties in trusting and looking forward for a better future. Works Cited Babatsikou, Fotoula. "Homeless: a high risk group for the public health." Health Science Journal (2010): 4(2): 66-67. Print. Baggett, Travis, et al. "The Unmet Health Care Needs of Homeless Adults: A National Study." American Journal of Public Health (2010): 100(7): 1326–1333. Web. Caton, Carol, et al. "Risk factors for homelessness among indigent urban adults with no history of psychotic illnesses: a case-control study." American Journal of Public Health (2000): 90:258-263. Print. Krieger, James and Donna Higgins. "Housing and health: time again for public health action." American Journal of Public Health (2002): 92(5):758-768. Print. Meyer, Ilan and Sharon Schwartz. "Social issues as public health: promise and peril." American Journal of Public Health (2000): 90(8):1189-1191. Print. Read More