Clin Prev & Population Health: Case Study

Homeless people are a vulnerable population in many respects that they always face discrimination and exclusion because of their housing condition. It is a social problem that typically low wages and shortage of affordable housing are the main factors contributing to homelessness. In fact, many poor people face significant barriers to maintain stable housing because they don’t have accessibilities to increase their economic stability. Overall, there are significant factors that contribute to homelessness that many homeless people usually struggle with limited access to resources, lack of information about services, and lack of support systems.

The purpose of this paper is to create a concept analysis and identify a nursing concept that is within a nursing theory. A concept analysis is a process where concepts and their characteristics are researched and clarified. The eight steps on conducting a concept analysis include selection of a concept used in a nursing theory, identification of the aims or purposes of the analysis, identification of possible use of the selected concept, determination of defining attributes, identification of model cases, identification of antecedents and consequences, and lastly definition of empirical referents (Walker & Avant, 2011). The nursing concept selected for this paper is “empowerment” within the nursing profession. The nursing theory from which the empowerment concept was obtained is Kanter’s Theory on Structural Empowerment. In order to empower someone, an individual needs the tools and resources to feel powered. According to Laschinger, Gilbert, Smith, & Leslie (2010), Kanter defines power as the ability to mobilize information, resources and support to get things done in an organization. The role of management is to provide employees with power tools that empower them to maximize their ability to accomplish their work in a meaningful way. Kanter goes on to describe two primary empowerment structures in organizations, first being the structure of opportunity and second the structure of power. The structure of opportunity relates to job conditions that provide

Empowerment always includes power, as it is absolutely necessary. In the field of social work, empowerment involves the partnership model in which power is developed “with and among”, rather than power “over” consumers. (Cox, et Al 2008) Wetzel and Inglehart demonstrated the Human-Empowerment model in which it is demonstrated empowerment is essential to democracy, because it is only effective if power is vested within the people. Empowerment in nursing stresses that in order for a nurse to empower their patients, they must also surrender power. (Gibson, 1991) Seen in all three disciplines, partnership is a process of enabling people to choose to take control over and make decisions about their lives and critical to empowerment. It is also a process which values all those involved. It is a democratic concept, fighting for the advancement of social justice and freedom of choice. Value of self and others is an important attribute in empowerment, and is essential for application of the concept. It is a very positive, proactive concept that requires effort from all sides of the relationship, whether that is nurse to patient, or teacher to student, or

In the United States the homeless population continues to grow rapidly. Homelessness has been a public health issue for many decades. Often times these individuals feel as though society has turned a blind eye to them. This at risk population is seen by society as lazy or chose to live a life on the streets, but if one would examine this population closely would see that there is more to this at risk population than what society has labeled them as. The forces, which affect homelessness, are multifaceted. Social forces such as family breakdown, addictions, and mental illnesses are in combined with structural forces such as lack of low-cost housing, insufficient health services, and poor economic conditions. Many would

The clinical issues affecting the homeless individual can range from mental illness to health issues. Several clinical issues affect the homeless population because of lack of health insurance and clinical resources. “The clinical issues affecting homeless people are dental, vision, foot diseases, post-traumatic arthritis, HIV, TB, STD’s respiratory infections, diabetes, hypertension, and nutritional problems are all major clinical issues” (Zevin, 2013). Quite a few people are homeless and suffer from various clinical issues because they have no insurance, housing, support from family/friends, or program resources. It seems when populations such homelessness is so huge some are left behind with no help. Various social service organizations exist that cater to the homeless population, but so many individuals and families are not helped because of mis-direction. Health care is an important factor to many, especially those who do not have access to a health care facility. Social services resources are available as well as the human service

The Homeless are a vulnerable population. Homelessness is a social issue that anyone can almost be subjected to despite his or her age, race, ethnicity or geographical background. Kornblum (2012) defined homelessness as… “as a social condition in which people do not have regular housing and are forced to sleep in public places, public shelters, or facilities designed for homeless individuals and families” (p.280). The homeless population faces several adversaries in their lifetime of being homeless. Their adversaries are a lack physical and emotional disabilities, and possibly drug abuse. Grant some are homeless by choice, whereas most are homeless by mishaps, but nevertheless, they are humans deserving to be treated with fairness, dignity,

The homeless population will only increase with our current economic status. Jean Watson’s Theory of Caring states that “intentionality is the projection of awareness, with purpose and efficacy toward some object or outcome” (Leuning, 2001, p. 300). Healthcare organizations and nurses need to collaborate using intentionality. The vulnerability status of the homeless is higher than most due to their lack of basic human needs of food, water, and shelter. The homeless population succumbs to a variety of chronic illnesses and disease, such as tuberculosis, AIDS/HIV, malnutrition and severe dental problems. They also fall prey to parasites, frostbite, infection and violence (Basics of Homelessness, 2002). These reasons alone prove that the homeless population needs to receive specialized care designed around their lifestyles. As one can see, this population is not going away and the problem will only continue to grow. It is up to nurses and other healthcare professionals to advocate for these individuals and help make a change by using specialized assessment tools and learning more about programs specifically for the homeless By ensuring that these individuals receive the proper follow up care through a collaborative effort of nurses, doctors, social workers, case managers, and psychiatric professionals, there will be a

Researchers and policymakers are newly optimistic about the prospect of ending homelessness. For two decades, the goal of our homeless programs was to first treat people for their myriad afflictions (substance abuse, say, or illness) and hope that

Among general population, homelessness has been a social, economic, and public health concern in the U.S. for at least three decades.

Empowerment is when individuals are given greater control over decisions and actions that will affect their health. Empowerment is important when working in partnership within health and social care settings, as it can allow honest relationships to develop between service users and

Throughout history there has always been a portion of society living in disadvantaged conditions. With the current high cost of living, global issues, unemployment rate on the rise, and low wages, many Americans are finding themselves homeless. One would think that in this advanced century, there would not be individuals living without the basic necessities such as food, water, and shelter. Unfortunately, there are millions of people with nowhere to sleep. Besides the many problems homeless people face daily, one of the leading problems is health care. Being homeless with limited access to health care or shelter in conjunction with mental illness or exposure to harmful diseases can lead to poor health, or

Understanding how both individual and structural factors contribute to and sustain homelessness is a critical factor in successfully addressing homelessness. All to often service providers blame homeless individuals for the circumstances they are in, making assumptions that substance abuse or other irresponsible behaviors have caused the problems leading to the individual to become homeless. Hoffman and Coffey (2008) suggest, “the perpetuation of homelessness is not internal to the homeless individual as many claim, but rather may be embedded in the service industry itself, which subjects both clients and providers to bureaucratic forms of authority and experiences of disrespect.” While not all homeless people suffer from mental illness or substance abuse, all of

Emancipatory nursing praxis is a theory based on the human-environment as an integral whole, where praxis (reflection-in-action and action in-reflection) is the facilitator for emancipatory human-environment (systemic) change.

Studies have shown “31-46% report having a chronic medical problem. (NHCHC, 2001, p.1). According to these statistics almost half of the homeless population are suffering from chronic health problems. The majority of which will not receive proper care to cure the health problems. The homeless population, in order to address the living challenges, they use extraordinary amounts of human services. Visits to a facility that provides health care is much higher for a homeless person than the general population. “Homeless adults are

The theory of community empowerment is a middle range theory and was originally designed to improve the health of people in their communities. Like other nursing theories, this theory could easily be adapted to accommodate a different situation from its original intent. The theory contains three essential aspects in its framework: involvement, lay workers, and reciprocal health. This theory is designed to incorporate and empower everyone involved.