Health care needs of sheltered homeless women

Identification of health needs of sheltered homeless women is a vital step in assisting this vulnerable population to productive members of society. The purpose of the study was to determine the health care needs of sheltered homeless women in LasVegas. Few studies have been done focusing on the health needs of sheltered homeless women. Dorthea Orem's Self-Care Deficit Theory of Nursing provided the theoretical framework for this descriptive study. In order to identify health needs, fifty women participated in structured interviews where both objective and subjective data were collected. Frequencies were calculated in order to describe the population and identify similarities. Data indicated that this group of sheltered homeless women were mostly Caucasian (60%), single (32%) or divorced (32%), and had at least a high school education (77.6%). Ages ranged from eighteen to sixty-eight years. Sixty percent rated their health as excellent or good. Dental problems (64%) ranked as the most common problem among the sample. The women also experienced sinus problems (56%), depression (42%), back problems (40%), and insomnia (40%). Additional findings based on Spearman's rho correlations are helpful in describing positive relationships among health problems and health ranKing In addition, a significant relationship was identified between the number of positive risk factors and health ranKing Results are applicable in nursing practice to enable health practitioners and program planners to target sub-populations for needed services.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Nursing

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Year

1998

Author dc:creator

• Gauthier, Mary Ellen

Contributors dc:contributor

• Susan Kowalski

Statement dc:rights

• IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Identifier

https://oasis.library.unlv.edu/rtds/925

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:oasis.library.unlv.edu:rtds-1924