Running head: Vulnerable population 1

Vulnerable Population: Homeless

Aaron Peterson

Becker College

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Vulnerable Population: Homeless

Aaron Peterson

There are multiple approaches when it comes to categorizing a set group of people as

“homeless”. Depending on which side of the ocean a person is on, they will get a different

explanation regarding a homeless person. The United States has instituted four categories to

classify a homeless person. The categories are as follows, literally homeless, imminent risk of

homelessness, homeless under other federal statues, and fleeing/attempting to flee domestic

violence (Nies & McEwen, 2015).

The homeless population comes with many health concerns. First, the homeless

population does not have access to a primary health care provider, meaning yearly check-ups and

physicals are not up-to-date. Second, the homeless person presents to the emergency department,

which is an added cost to the person receiving care and the country or state giving the care,

“Homeless people are high users of emergency departments (EDs) and during a 2-year period,

over 10% of ED presentations to a single Australian public hospital were found to be homeless”

(Moore, Manias, & Gerdtz, 2011). This puts a monetary strain on the state and emotional strain

on the homeless person needing the care. Third, the homeless person who ends up with a chronic

condition, serious or not, does not follow drug regimens very consistently. This is especially the

case when a homeless person must keep coming back to the hospital to get treated. Fourth, the

homeless person is more likely to find him or herself in situations where recreational drug use is

common, “The relationship between homelessness and perceived increases in drug use is

consistent with existing research suggesting that homeless youth are more likely to engage

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in riskier and more frequent substance use than housed youth” (Cheng, Wood, Ngyuen, Kerr &

DeBeck, 2014). This one fact opens the homeless person up to many health risks, including

conditions like HIV/ADIS, sexually transmitted diseases, and many drug related side effects.

Chronic drug use turns into long term conditions, which means the homeless person will need to

go to the hospital multiple times. Fifth, daily nutrition is not an option. This leaves the homeless

person susceptible to vitamin deficiencies. The pregnant female also has no access to prenatal

vitamins, which does not bode well for the fetus. Sixth, another major problem in this population

is hypertension. The homeless population only has access to the cheapest food available, this

means that the average homeless person gets a diet that consists of sodium and cholesterol. This

makes conditions like hypertension very common. Finally, in the chronically homeless client

who lives in the northern states, a doctor may see some homeless patients with frostbite or

hypothermia. These conditions are common in states that have cold winters and in patients who

do not have a shelter to retreat to.

The epidemiology of the homeless population is shrouded in inconsistencies. This is

because the homeless person in southern California may have different conditions than the ones

in Maine. In January 2012, an estimate of the homeless population was done. The PIT count of

homeless people were as follows, 364,379 individuals, 239,403 families with children, 62,619

veterans and 99,894 chronically homeless (Nies & McEwen, 2015). This brings the estimated

total of homeless people to 1,502,196. This, of course, is not a small number. It is also a

population in which this group of people are much more susceptible to diseases and conditions

such as schizophrenia, trauma, alcoholism and tooth loss or decay. This is a large group of people

who do not have access to health care on a daily, weekly, monthly or even yearly basis.

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The demographics of the homeless population are broken up into different groups. The sheltered

population are two-thirds male, while only 22.1% are younger than 18 years old. Most adults in

the sheltered population are 31-61 years old and minorities accounted for 60% of the total

sheltered population (Nies & McEwen, 2015). The individual homeless population consists of

mostly men, 72%, and 70% of the individual population are between 31-61 years old. Minorities

account for 55% of sheltered individual homeless population (Nies & McEwen, 2015). The final

two categories of the homeless population are families and veterans. Families are comprised of at

least one adult and one child. Women account for 80% of adult family members in shelters, while

90.2% of the sheltered homeless veteran population were men (Nies & McEwen, 2015).

The health care needs of this population range far and wide. The homeless person does

not have access to any of the health care benefits the average human does. The homeless person

needs health care, jobs security and many supportive services. Supportive services are the largest

part of the necessary push to get homeless people shelter and care. The inadequacy of the

housing for the population is astounding. Affordable housing, more jobs and the need for social

and physical well-being are top priorities. Not only does the homeless person need housing, but

the homeless person is as risk for mental health problems, of which it would be beneficial to

have counseling services ready for the newly housed homeless person. This population deserves

mental well-being as well as physical well-being.

Preexisting barriers and improvements go hand in hand. Getting rid of any barrier

preventing this population from getting the care they need would be an improvement. More jobs

created by the United States government would allow the homeless person to make money and

ultimately afford food and health care, which would be an improvement. Opening free clinics in

the urban and rural areas would be extremely vital in getting the homeless population a yearly

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check-up, for themselves and their families. Breaking ground on new projects for shelter of the

homeless population would be an improvement. Finally, providing walk-in counseling at

colleges or hospitals would help the homeless person immensely. Being able to talk to someone

who can give the homeless person options is always a good place to start. Any sort of housing

surge, or push to provide care to these individuals would be an improvement on the todays

situation.

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References

Cheng, T., Wood, E., Nguyen, P., Kerr, T., & DeBeck, K. (2014). Increases and decreases in drug

use attributed to housing status among street-involved youth in a canadian setting. Harm

Reduction Journal, 11, 12. doi:http://dx.doi.org.becker.idm.oclc.org/10.1186/1477-7517-

11-12

Moore, Gaye, BN,M.P.H., PhD., Manias, Elizabeth, RN, BPharm,M.Pharm, M.NursStud, &

Gerdtz, Marie Frances,PhD., B.N. (2011). Complex health service needs for people who

are homeless. Australian Health Review, 35(4), 480-5. Retrieved from

http://becker.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.becker.idm.oclc.org/

docview/1022709505?accountid=35619

Nies, M. A., & McEwen, M. (2015). Community/public health nursing: Promoting the health of

populations. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.