From homeless to housed: caring for people in transition.
This ethnographic study was conducted to determine what homeless people experience during the transition from street life into community housing. Data were gathered through participant observation at a program designed to secure housing and support services for homeless people upon discharge from a psychiatric hospital. Sixty homeless, mentally ill adults were followed from hospital discharge through their first 2 years in community housing. Homeless people interact with health care providers across a cultural divide produced by vast differences in their lived experiences. This cultural distance limits access to the services that these individuals require to achieve residential stability.
Drury
Lin J
LJ
Lienhard School of Nursing, Pace University, New York, NY 10038, USA. ldrury@pace.edu
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000359:Aftercare; D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology; D019090:Case Management; D003152:Community Health Nursing; D003156:Community Mental Health Services; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019456:Health Transition; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D028642:Persons with Psychiatric Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D024802:Nurse's Role; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010351:Patient Discharge; D011638:Public Housing; D012944:Social Support