Improving health professionals’ and learners’ attitudes towards homeless individuals through street-based outreach

Abstract

Objective: To identify the impact of volunteering in a street medicine programme on perceptions of and attitudes towards individuals experiencing homelessness. Design: Prospective pre- and post-analysis using involvement in a street medicine programme as the intervention. Attitudes towards and perceptions of individuals experiencing homelessness were measured using the Health Professional Attitude Towards the Homeless Inventory (HPATHI). Setting: Participants provided outreach to individuals experiencing homelessness across metro Phoenix in parks and in homeless encampments along the streets. Method: Students and preceptors from numerous professions, including medicine, nursing, social work, physical therapy, occupational therapy, public health and undergraduate students, who volunteered for the street medicine programme were organised into small outreach teams. All volunteers were emailed the HPATHI to complete before and after semester-long, monthly outreach events. Results: Volunteering in our street medicine programme demonstrated statistically significant improvements in perceptions of and attitudes towards individuals experiencing homelessness for all volunteers, regardless of profession. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that integrating street medicine programmes into curricula for health and social care programmes can reduce the stigma towards individuals experiencing homelessness, inspire increased commitment to practising in underserved communities and meet the unmet health and social needs of the homeless population.

The relationship between attitudes to homelessness and perceptions of caring behaviours: a cross-sectional study among women experiencing homelessness, nurses and nursing students

“…Nurses who violate caring relationships with their patients may exacerbate the patients’ sense of homelessness and suffering [ 14 ]. Similar to earlier research, this result suggests that it is imperative that RNs [ 41 , 42 ] and nursing students [ 24 , 43 ] reflect on their potentially stigmatising attitudes and associated behaviours towards homelessness in order to benefit members of the homeless population. This result aligns with health and social care guideline recommendations that health and social care services should promote engagement among people experiencing homelessness by providing services that are person-centred, empathetic, non-judgemental and that aim to address health inequities [ 44 ].…”

Experiências e desafios de uma equipe de rua em Portugal com populações vulneráveis: estudo fenomenológico

“…A população em situação de rua tem um histórico documentado de necessidades de saúde não atendidas e sociais (19) que requerem atenção de profissionais com abordagem não julgadora e que se utilizem da empatia e justiça na relação com essa população (20) . A presença das equipes de consultório na rua nos territórios se mostra como uma ferramenta organizada em políticas intersetoriais que visam impactar em condições mais humanas dessa população vulnerável.…”

Experiences and challenges of a street team in Portugal with vulnerable populations: phenomenological study

“…The population in street situation has a documented history of unmet health and social needs (19) that require attention from professionals with a non-judgmental approach and who use empathy and justice in their relation with this population (20) . The presence of street clinics team in the territories is shown as a tool organized in intersectoral policies that aim to impact on more human conditions of this vulnerable population.…”