Homelessness

Associations between poor health and the homeless can easily be made. Poor health is both a cause of homelessness and a result of homelessness. Homeless people often suffer from diseases before becoming homeless and they also often acquire infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis and AIDS, due to their environment and living conditions. Two of the most common infectious diseases within the homeless community are AIDS/HIV (and diseases acquired due to a poor immune system …

…children and the highest prevalence rate of any child population in the United States); and that homeless children suffer from middle ear infections at a rate that is 50% greater than the national average. These illnesses have potentially devastating consequences if not treated early. Illness within the homeless community cannot be ignored. It is obvious that the two concerns are strongly linked and in order to help the homeless healthcare policies must be reviewed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**