Epidemiology Part 1

Running head: Epidemiology Part 1

Epidemiology Part 1

Nursing Institute

March 21st, 2009

Epidemiology Paper Part 1

Homelessness

How do we define homelessness? According to the United States department of housing and urban development (HUD), the term homelessness or a homeless individual is an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; and an individual who has a primary nighttime residence that is a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations (including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing for the mentally ill) (HUD 2007). In this paper the following issues will be discussed: the history of homelessness, the problem of homelessness in relation to Healthy People 2010 Objectives, the natural life history of the homelessness and the primary, secondary and tertiary interventions.

History of Homelessness

Homelessness can be traced back during colonial America. In 1640, the English "vagrants" were listed as outcast individuals and the police were after them. Homeless people were considered "Sturdy beggars" in the mid eighteenth century and they were found in every corner of the colonial towns. For instance they could be found in towns like, Baltimore and Philadelphia which had a significantly larger number of homeless individuals than any other town in America. The issue of homelessness at that period was a result of the King Philip' War Of 1675-1676 against the native people.

Later on during the American Revolution, the rate of homelessness increased. Soon after the war many people were forced into homelessness because they were unable to meet their basic needs. By the depression of 1857, most of the growing cities were full of homeless people but there was no effort to intervene from the government. When the civil war broke out, homelessness was rising again. Many war veterans remained unemployed and others lost their properties to war and natural catastrophes, therefore they spent most of their time in the streets.

Homelessness in Relation to Healthy People 2010 Objectives

The Healthy People 2010 Objectives focuses on the problem of homelessness by setting goals that deal with the mental health issues of homeless people. One of the goals of Healthy People 2010 is to improve mental health and to ensure access to appropriate, quality mental health services. The target for 2010 is to reduce the suicide rate among the homeless to 6.0 which will be a 44% improvement from 1998. Healthy People 2010 objectives seek to increase the proportion of persons with serious mental illness who are employed. The target for 2010 is to increase the rate of employment among persons with mental illness is 51% which would be a 21% improvement from 1994.

The Natural Life History of Homelessness

Homelessness is said to be caused mainly from "the lack of affordable housing, substance abuse, mental illness, lack of needed services, domestic violence, poverty, prison release, lack of affordable health care, and natural disaster" (Donohoe, M 2004). Homelessness occurs in many nations, not just in the United States, and is a major public health challenge. It has existed since urbanization and industrialization. According to Donohoe, "Over the past 20 years, homelessness has been basically ignored by the mainstream press and the general public" (2004). The article states that, statistics shows that "7% of people living in the United States are homeless, or have been homeless. It also states that homelessness rates have increased over the past two decades and an estimated 2.5 to 3.5 million people are now experiencing homelessness each year" (Donohoe, 2004). Donohoe