Homeless Families: Disparity in Health Care delivery

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The following is an extensive discussion on points that ought to be addressed in your paper.

'The availability of good medical care tends to vary inversely with the need for it in the population served [Tudor Hart J. The inverse care law. Lancet 1971; 1: 405-412]

The US Department of Health and Human Services defines the term 'vulnerable population' as "a population likely to be vulnerable to coercion or undue influence [1]." As one can imagine, a group marginalized for any reason may be considered vulnerable under certain circumstances. However, clinical ethics in the United States focuses on underrepresented populations disadvantaged by race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, disability, and level of education. The homeless are among the most medically disenfranchised populations in America. As is the case of any vulnerable population, the homeless have health needs that are particular to their disposition. What makes the healthcare delivery for the homeless exceptionally difficult is the fact that many of the health issues that plague the homeless are a direct result of their circumstances. There are several multifaceted issues that arise from the aforementioned; they are described below.

I. Health Concerns
The health concerns of the homeless are not surprisingly different from those of the general population. Diseases that have long since been eradicated from the majority of the population (many of which are prevented through simple public health mechanisms such as sanitation, vaccination, and dissemination of nutritional information) are prevalent in the homeless population. Further, infections that have become rare in the general population are rampant in the homeless population - these include tuberculosis [see http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/286/7/834.full.pdf+html], HIV/AIDS, polio, and dysentery. What's more, many conditions are a direct result of their being homeless. Addiction, namely alcoholism and drug addiction are a leading health concern. Disorders of malnutrition such as goiter, scurvy, and diabetes inflict homeless persons who either lack information about proper nutrition, or are forced to eat whatever becomes available to them. Above all, mental illness seems to plague homeless citizens more frequently than any other affliction.

The incidence of mental illness in the homeless population is greatly disproportionate to the incidence of mental illness in the general population. As ...