Homelessness in Health Care

Homelessness is the priority of the community health nursing problem I identified

in Ironridge. This post is focusing on how supported housing related to preventable ED

visit. As poor health can contribute to becoming homelessness, being homeless can lead

to poor health. At the same time, homelessness face barriers to primary care

notwithstanding having greater needs for health care, on average, than people who are not

homeless. Access to health care is complex and can be a factor in meeting an individual’s

health care needs, the ability to perceive such needs, the desire for care, the person’s

health care–seeking behavior, the capacity to reach health care, and obtain the appropriate

service. Chronic diseases, including hypertension, diabetes, chronic obstructive

pulmonary disease, seizures, and musculoskeletal disorders, are often undiagnosed or

inadequately treated in homeless adults. Undiagnosed and untreated chronic illnesses in

homelessness related to the massive use of the emergency room (ER) and an increase of

preventable hospitalization. In the research study by Ku et al. (2014), found 23.7% of ER

visits made by homeless frequent users who expended $4.8 million in ER in one year. ED

visits are costly. However, some visits are potentially avoidable. The study of Enard and

Ganelin (2013) found that poor health care management and inadequate access to care

augmented the preventable ED visits. ED visits for conditions that are preventable or

treatable with appropriate primary care lower health system efficiency and raise costs

(Enard & Ganelin, 2013).

The research question: Does increase usage of supported housing program (I) in

chronic illness homelessness (P) will decrease preventable emergency department visit

(O) compared to without the supported housing program?

P: Population: chronic illness homelessness

I: Intervention: supported housing program

C: Comparison: without supported housing program.

O: Outcome: decrease preventable emergency department visit

T: Time: six months to one year.

Instruction Files
Week 3TD (1) (2).docx
153.5 KB