The collateral damage of the COVID-19 pandemic on homeless people in the Netherlands; a qualitative study on the impact of health and care
IntroductionPeople experiencing homelessness, also in the Netherlands, experience poorer physical and mental health compared to the general population and suffer from unmet health needs that are strongly related to their unfavorable social situation. This makes them especially vulnerable to negative...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Medicine |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2024.1305834/full |
| _version_ | 1797271442300076032 |
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| author | Tessa van Loenen Tessa van Loenen Jeyna Sow Maria van den Muijsenbergh Maria van den Muijsenbergh |
| author_facet | Tessa van Loenen Tessa van Loenen Jeyna Sow Maria van den Muijsenbergh Maria van den Muijsenbergh |
| author_sort | Tessa van Loenen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionPeople experiencing homelessness, also in the Netherlands, experience poorer physical and mental health compared to the general population and suffer from unmet health needs that are strongly related to their unfavorable social situation. This makes them especially vulnerable to negative consequences of a public health emergency such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This qualitative study aims to provide insight into the experiences of people experiencing homelessness with the impact of the pandemic on their health and lives.MethodsWe performed semistructured interviews at 3 different times in the first 2 years of the pandemic including, respectively, 67, 55, and 53 persons. Interviews focused on their experienced mental and physical health, their experiences with the public health measures taken, and the care they received during the pandemic.ResultsIn each round of interviews, the self-reported mental health was lower than before. In the last round approximately half felt mentally unhealthy. Mental health was negatively impacted due to livelihood insecurity, loss of social contact and poor accessibility to social and medical care. Twenty-four hour shelter locations with smaller dormitories had a positive impact on mental health.Conclusion and recommendationsMost preventive measures taken during the pandemic negatively impacted the mental health of people experiencing homelessness but some improved their health. We recommend special attention to the effects on mental health when planning measures for pandemic control and we recommend to implement 24-h shelter and smaller dormitories. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:02:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2db1025803fd42ffacd27e8f211fbd4f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-858X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:02:47Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-2db1025803fd42ffacd27e8f211fbd4f2024-03-07T04:24:59ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Medicine2296-858X2024-03-011110.3389/fmed.2024.13058341305834The collateral damage of the COVID-19 pandemic on homeless people in the Netherlands; a qualitative study on the impact of health and careTessa van Loenen0Tessa van Loenen1Jeyna Sow2Maria van den Muijsenbergh3Maria van den Muijsenbergh4Department of Primary and Community Care, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, NetherlandsPharos, Centre of Expertise on Health Disparities, Utrecht, NetherlandsPharos, Centre of Expertise on Health Disparities, Utrecht, NetherlandsDepartment of Primary and Community Care, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, NetherlandsPharos, Centre of Expertise on Health Disparities, Utrecht, NetherlandsIntroductionPeople experiencing homelessness, also in the Netherlands, experience poorer physical and mental health compared to the general population and suffer from unmet health needs that are strongly related to their unfavorable social situation. This makes them especially vulnerable to negative consequences of a public health emergency such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This qualitative study aims to provide insight into the experiences of people experiencing homelessness with the impact of the pandemic on their health and lives.MethodsWe performed semistructured interviews at 3 different times in the first 2 years of the pandemic including, respectively, 67, 55, and 53 persons. Interviews focused on their experienced mental and physical health, their experiences with the public health measures taken, and the care they received during the pandemic.ResultsIn each round of interviews, the self-reported mental health was lower than before. In the last round approximately half felt mentally unhealthy. Mental health was negatively impacted due to livelihood insecurity, loss of social contact and poor accessibility to social and medical care. Twenty-four hour shelter locations with smaller dormitories had a positive impact on mental health.Conclusion and recommendationsMost preventive measures taken during the pandemic negatively impacted the mental health of people experiencing homelessness but some improved their health. We recommend special attention to the effects on mental health when planning measures for pandemic control and we recommend to implement 24-h shelter and smaller dormitories.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2024.1305834/fullhomelessCOVID-19mental healthprimary carequalitative |
| spellingShingle | Tessa van Loenen Tessa van Loenen Jeyna Sow Maria van den Muijsenbergh Maria van den Muijsenbergh The collateral damage of the COVID-19 pandemic on homeless people in the Netherlands; a qualitative study on the impact of health and care Frontiers in Medicine homeless COVID-19 mental health primary care qualitative |
| title | The collateral damage of the COVID-19 pandemic on homeless people in the Netherlands; a qualitative study on the impact of health and care |
| title_full | The collateral damage of the COVID-19 pandemic on homeless people in the Netherlands; a qualitative study on the impact of health and care |
| title_fullStr | The collateral damage of the COVID-19 pandemic on homeless people in the Netherlands; a qualitative study on the impact of health and care |
| title_full_unstemmed | The collateral damage of the COVID-19 pandemic on homeless people in the Netherlands; a qualitative study on the impact of health and care |
| title_short | The collateral damage of the COVID-19 pandemic on homeless people in the Netherlands; a qualitative study on the impact of health and care |
| title_sort | collateral damage of the covid 19 pandemic on homeless people in the netherlands a qualitative study on the impact of health and care |
| topic | homeless COVID-19 mental health primary care qualitative |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2024.1305834/full |
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