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PBHL-S337: Health Equity Final Project
 

Health and Society Issue Brief

PBHL-S337, Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health, has been selected as a course with engaged learning experiences to reflect back on.

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This course provides students with an ecological perspective on health, exploring how the systems in which people live work, learn, and play impact their health. The culminating assignment calls on students to demonstrate understanding of core concepts in the class regarding the connection between upstream social issues and population health and health equity. Students use credible evidence to describe a social issue they believe needs to be addressed, explain the connection between that social issue and population health, and then identify one evidence-based course of action that addresses the upstream social problem.  

 

Working in a pair with another student is encouraged to build collaborative skills, though students may elect to prepare the brief on their own.  The assignment  is meant to hone students' communication skills for writing in a simple, clear, and straightforward way, aiming for an audience of people one might meet in community organizations or the general public.

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The Homeless Crisis In America



 

Key Findings

  • In 2023, 653,104 people experienced homelessness, with nearly one million entering homelessness for the first time.

  • 39.9% of people were unsheltered in 2023, showing a sharp increase from previous years. 

  • Homelessness worsens poverty, creating a downward spiral that is hard to break. You can also say this is the circle of poverty.

  • Homelessness mostly impacts people of color, veterans, survivors of domestic violence, LGBTQ+ youths, single parents and individuals with disabilities.

  • Exempting diapers from sales tax and offering monthly diaper stipends can help reduce diaper insecurity.

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The Homelessness Crisis

Homelessness is a growing national crisis, this is supported by data which shows that over 653,000 people experinexce homelessness in 2023, with nearly a million entering homelessness for the first time. This statistic highlights some systematic causes for issues with housing such as: deinstitutionalization of behavioral hospitals, pacist housing policies, unelployment, and the critical shortage of affordable housing. 

homelessness on the rise.png

We also saw how homelessness disproportionally affects socially disadvantaged groups such as people of color, survivors of domestic housing, veterans, individuals with disabilities, single parents and LGBTQ+ youths the most. We know that these populations face a mix of barriers such as discrimination, economic instability, lack of access to healthcare and it's services, and a lack of supportive housing which puts these groups more at risk for being trapped in the homelessness cycle. 

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We also looked at the connection of homelessness and health equity. We found that there is a link showing how unstable housing exacerbates chronic illness, infectious diseases, injures, poor nutrition, and mental health conditions such as PTSD and depression. It highlights the circle of poverty where homelessness results from and intensifies economic stability.  

The call to action we found would work the best is the Housing First model. This model treats housing as a human right and provides security and stability before addressing the issues of employment or treatment options and needs. Evidence shows that participants in the Housing First model programs spend significantly fewer days homeless and more days in stable housing compared to other traditional approaches. Why we are framing housing as a foundation for health and dignity, the project concludes that addressing root causes and reducing systematic inequities in addition to implementing the Housing First model is essential for breaking the cycle of poverty, improving resilience, and advancing health equity in vulnerable communities. 

What I learned

My group picked this topic because the affects of homelessness are all around us. It was interesting to learn something new since I was unaware of the Housing Fist model. It seems like a great model and there is evidence to back up why it works. I hope that it gets implemented in more cities and can  help fix the massive issue of homelessness in America.

 

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