(Health, health promotion and homelessness)
Little attention has been paid to the health promotion needs of homeless people and yet they are more likely than others to seek medical attention once they have a disease rather than at a preventative stage, say Dr Robert Power and colleagues from a multitude of medical institutions and associations advocating action for homeless people, in this week's BMJ.
The authors write that homeless people are a heterogenous population - the health care priorities of a young man sleeping on the streets differ from those of a single mother in temporary accommodation - whose diverse health promotion needs are poorly met. They suggest that further research is undertaken to ascertain the specific health promotion needs of subgroups of homeless people and that a rigorous evaluation of any health promotion activities is undertaken in order the provide an evidence base for good practice.
Contact:
Dr Robert Power, Department of Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Royal Free and University College Medical School, London rpower@gum.ucl.ac.uk