It goes without saying that life without good health and peace is of no relevance. The very purpose of living is defeated if there is an absence of just, equitable, peaceful, and moral existence of human minds. Undoubtedly, the matter becomes a cause of concern for anyone if it is degraded by the human minds. In this context, it makes good sense to assume that the peaceful co-existence of people without any differences is good for the mutual understanding, respect, and honor of one another’s lives and property. All of us know this that such a logical approach in life builds a platform for a healthy, happy, and progressive society. But, the moot point in this modern age of economic, political, social, and ethical environments is role of power struggle, supremacy and dominance among the different class of people. So, it is a million dollar question to ensure a just and peaceful environment in this world. In this universal drive for public health, the role of society, government, and people in general plays a key role in creating a culture of healthy atmosphere among the masses and ensure an affordable and people-friendly health system at the regional and national levels. So, it is the accountability not only of the any region or government to look after and provide quality health infrastructure but also of the international and global agency to monitor a global health plans and policies for a healthy and progressive health systems in place. In this background, this is more important in the context of the Southern California homeless people and its effect on public health. In addition, the cultural nuances of the homeless population and the resulting risk factors are a cause of concern.
Body
Believe it or not, the root of displaying a sense of poor health system for the Southern California homeless is the result of supremacy, dominating and negative attitude, unethical temperament, and corrupt minds of some people and government agencies that seem to be treating themselves as the protectors of the quality status. Such a thought process gives birth to the grounds of hate, struggle, fights, and differences. In this context, there is need to think that poor health problems are external factors that results from our mental degradation. So, we cannot afford to have the two worlds where the people, especially the poor lot of the southern California, are divided on the basis of the poverty and poor health. We have enough resources that need to be judiciously managed to provide quality life to the poor lot. But, what is in our control is the option to overcome these problems or difficulties. And, this option builds the path for the safety and security of people’s health and life. No matter what could be context and circumstances, there should not be any confusion in choosing an option of providing quality health system to the poor people. Because, having a good health and leading life with good health is a universal right of each and every human beings of this world. So is the case for the South Californian poor people. If the quality health service is not provided, we have every reasons to justify the poor health of people by blaming the system or the government. In this background of poor public health system and inability of common people to afford high cost of maintaining quality health system, it makes good sense to look at these facts from different perspectives. In order to understand the nuances of the bitter truth of poor health system and analyze its consequences better, let us discuss some of its paramount and fundamental factors.
Background
The population chosen for this analysis is the southern Californian of 25000, especially the ghetto. This is located in the San Diego, El Centro and El Cajon area of California which is placed at the southern tip bordering Mexico. Of a total area of 411,048 square kilometers of the California, these areas cover around 278 square kilometers of the areas. There are multiple layers of the problems these people face. Some of the common problems of these people are:
a) Poor quality of living due to poor economic condition
b) Disturbed social life due separation or divorce of parents
c) Lack of economic development of the area
d) Lack of emphasis on education and training for making them employable
e) Lack of government initiatives in social and health sectors
f) Absence of other source of income
As a result of these problems faced by the poverty and ill-health of these people, some of the common impacts of these problems on their public health are:
a) Malnutrition or poor food quality
b) Corruption in government systems
c) Consumption of alcoholic products
d) Disease and poor health
e) Infighting and adulterated activities
f) Loss of weight
g) Poor life expectancy of the people
h) Poor sanitation
i) Lack of resources for sustaining the life
j) Psychological disorder
k) Mental disturbance
l) Crime and corruption
Based on these ill-effects of their poor health, it is good to analyze these facts systematically from multiple angles.
The details of case studies on one of the area are as follows:
A stroll through the area of this city at night alarmingly sends chills down anyone’s body and mind. The poor people, who live on streets, have no access to healthcare and insurance services, educational rights, three meals per day, mental stability, and psychological care. All these factors provide a context for the discussion on ‘the Homeless.’ A peripheral analysis would end up defining the houseless as the homeless. However, a bifocal study of the homeless, taking into consideration the vast majority of people who are deprived of their ‘home’ – a place of psychological bonding, would raise concerns about citizens. These were displaced due to natural calamities, dam construction, government intervention, victims who lost their movable and immovable property one account of foreclosures, encroachment clearing, developmental plans, aboriginals who are deprived of their livelihood and natural habitat on various reasons, and homeless women, mostly singles and widows, who undergo various mental illness. It is reported that approximately 342,038 got default notices, auction sale notices, and bank repossessions. All these happened on U.S. properties in April 2009. Therefore, the paper aims at defining the role of nurses in helping the economically affected people who were made homeless due to foreclosures in the recent past. There is a further need to psychologically console these people and motivate them to face the challenges of life.
Additional Elements
In order to present the background information of homelessness, some years back, alcoholics were for many reasons homeless. And, they were mostly men. Now, the homeless population has multiplied in size and has become much more complex. It is now a blend of children, women, the displaced, and those who are living on streets with no access to healthcare services. Not only adults but also children are affected by foreclosures. Various studies conducted on students affected by foreclosures report that these affected children bear many psychological problems such acute pain, mental stress, psychological illness to which they become quickly susceptible. Parents of such children who are affected by foreclosures harbor such psychological stress in their daily life. This affects the children through physical transmission and appropriate physiological development of body. It not only passes on this mental stress but also keeps them at bay from their peers and friends. It is reported that students who are victims of such foreclosures develop low self-esteem and possess a compulsion of being less confident. Consequently, they do not cultivate leadership qualities, become less confident in their life, tend to become part-time workers, and are reported to become druggists.
There are three main factors that have contributed to the expansion of the homeless. First, the uncertainty of economy condition and development has resulted in the economic downturn and recession which has slashed many out of their homes, both tenants and owners. It has made many people fend for themselves. Second, mental disability and family tussles due to low earnings after the recession have worsened the crisis of homelessness. It is reported that crime levels have gone up after the recession and the number of people who visit hospitals on various reason has risen up over the past few years. In spite of their uncomfortable situations and the need for treatment, many homeless persons are deprived of the care they deserve to receive. Very rarely are homeless patients able to store their medicines at home, thereby making them vulnerable to various other diseases. Further, they are also deprived of a hygienic place for staying in. In dispensaries, hospitals, and hospices, both physicians and nurses show hesitation, discrimination, and carelessness in treating such patients. Nurses, as agents of social service providers, need to show love and concern for such people when the patients approach them for any medication. But, this is not the case. Even nurses show a sense of hate attitude towards them. The economic downturn is a war on human psychology. This is where the role of nurses is very much required.
Preventive Measures
There are urgent needs to change the tide of this pathetic scenario by improving their education and training them to become employable. Some of these preventive measures for such vulnerable are as follows:
a) While training and educating health professionals, an effort to improve the healthcare system is a much-needed solution at present.
b) In addition, nursing professionals should be given enough training on treatment of the homeless and be educated on providing counseling to the homeless when stressed.
c) Formulation of a database for storing data on the homeless and for administering apt medication when available, delivering service when needed, will definitely help the homeless patients.
d) Medical writers should be able to prepare documents that provide solution to the homeless.
e) Funding needs to be made to train all these people in developing their skill sets and other skill sets relevant to their field.
f) Researchers should collect data on the vulnerable population, especially children, teenagers, elders, and mentally retarded people.
g) Nurse researches should make a study of the effectiveness of services they can offer to such people and educate people who interact with such affected people on a daily basis. Such studies should also identify preventive services that can help reduce the number of homeless population.
h) Pamphlets on eating healthy food, taking care of the skin, and preventing various other diseases should be distributed across the world.
i) Researches should pave the way for cost-effectiveness in producing medicines in clinical institutes. Economy in the disguise of growth and development has caused many people homeless and there has been an unprecedented hike in the number of children and the mentally retarded who have been forced to fend for themselves.
j) As the reports claim, doctors and nurses who treat them for health tend to neglect such people. In order for their humanity to be respected, they should be strengthened in all sectors.
In the light of the above facts, it is right to believe that creative thought is the hallmark of a growing community. Innovation in the field of nursing should be made to combat all such types of illness and problem that arise out of homelessness. Public health is one such sector the services of which need to be made available to such people. In the technology world, innovation has to be initiated for the benefit of such people. Data inventory systems and data bases for enhancement of medicare all have be in place to make sure that the affected people are able to reap the benefits of nursing and qualitative healthcare services.
Conclusion
In the light of the aforesaid facts and analyses of these philosophies and reasons of poor health and the resultant factors during the present and past time, it can be, undoubtedly, assumed that poor health due to lack of public healthcare system is really an unjustifiable and unacceptable option. Blaming the poor or the underprivileged sections of the society for any crime is not logical in life because we cannot expect good things from the poor people at the cost of poor health. This is my firm belief that the “difficulty of what to do and what not to do” in life will continue to remain if we do not find a way to exist in this world as a just, logical and good human being. There have been hundreds of cases of economic and health exploitations, and all these have resulted in unruly behavior of the affected people. Millions of people get killed but no one bothers to look at the issues logically. So, time has come for us to discuss positive elements and remove a sense of differences faced due to poor planning. This will certainly make our life happy, progressive, honest, and prosperous in a true sense. So, let us build a society or a world where there is neither poor health not poverty, but only a thick layer of good health and sound body for the display of affection, brotherhood and respect for one another.
1. Stephens Stephanie (July 21, 2011.) Medicaid Waiver Good News for L.A.'s Homeless. Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
2. Mechanic David and Tanner Jennifer (2007.) Vulnerable People, Groups, And Populations: Societal View. Retrieved from http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/26/5/1220.full
3. California Advocacy Groups (2009.) Health Access. Retrieved from http://www.health-access.org/item.asp?id=120
4. Susan M. Barrow, Nicole D. Laborde (2008). Invisible Mothers: Parenting by Homeless Women Separated from Their Children. Retrieved from http://www.springerlink.com/content/742gu15730342t14/
5. Susan M. Barrow, Terese Lawinski (2009.) Contexts of Mother–Child Separations in Homeless Families. Retrieved from http://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=public%20health%20an%20extension%20of%20motherhood%20for%20the%20homeless%20in%20california&source=web&cd=3&sqi=2&ved=0CD8QFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.columbia-chps.org%2Fassets%2Ffirefly%2Ffiles%2Ffiles%2Fpdfs_articles%2FBarrow_contexts_pub.pdf&ei=_fNUT_bSNsKmrAe675G1DQ&usg=AFQjCNGVOY6jzPoUSsd-ubAvKohuuW9Hhw&cad=rja
6. Yumiko Aratani (2009.) Homeless Children and Youth: Causes and Consequences. Retrieved from http://nccp.org/publications/pub_888.html
