Martine Poyser Catherine Heighton Susannah Webb Jessie Singh “Learning with and from homeless people”
82% of homeless people have physical health problems (Mathie, 2010) 5x more likely to die of a preventable disease (Thomas, 2012) “Several commentators suggest that as many as half of the homeless population suffer from some form of mental illness.” (The Queen’s Nursing Institute, 2012) 11% increase in homeless application in 2011 (Crisis 2013)
First senior SSC: 3 weeks August/ September Second senior SSC: Research (Goodier et al., 2014) Third senior SSC: Inter- professional design LIGHT training course Fourth senior SSC: 3 weeks August/ September Charity first AGM March 2014 First junior SSC: 12 weeks September to December LIGHT Charity formed
Mixed methods design ◦ Semi-structured interview (quantitative/qualitative) ◦ Student interview (pairs), opportunistic sample ◦ Analysis: SPSS, thematic analysis 8 rough sleepers/56 temporary residence (n=64) ◦ 8 refused interviews (language, busy)
Welcomed student help (97%) Health issues affecting the population interviewed ◦ Heavy alcohol (67%) ◦ Tobacco (73%) ◦ Mental health (58%) Preferred location for the running of LIGHT services ◦ Fixed location (61%) ◦ Drop in service (58%) Evenings (47%) Weekends (56%) Services requested ◦ C ounselling (70%) ◦ Health checks (65%) ◦ Health promotion (48%) Goodier et al., (in press). Students make international links to further interprofessional learning :LIGHT- a student led initiative for the homeless population. Journal of Interprofessional Care: Early Online: 1–3! 2014 Informa UK Ltd. DOI: /
Assessing the effectiveness project in reducing stigma and increasing awareness of homelessness Effectiveness of student led health promotion sessions Effectiveness on student preparation for practice
Self awareness of prejudices & misconceptions Engagement in health promotion sessions with homeless people is improving own knowledge of health conditions. Development of communication skills
Final Year Medical Student
Masters Psychology Student
Potential further research ◦ Comparison of outcome of homeless individuals who have engaged in the project with those who have not. ◦ Research into how students involved with the project perform in the clinical environment. Development of the project ◦ Further integration into healthcare education ◦ Share outcomes to support similar projects elsewhere.
Robert Power, Rebecca French, James Connelly, Steve George, Derek Hawes, Teresa Hinton, et al. Health, health promotion, and homelessness; February ;BMJ
Thank you