Evaluating a specialist primary care service for patients experiencing homelessness: a qualitative study
Background: People experiencing homelessness (PEH) often experience poor health, multimorbidity, and early mortality and experience barriers to accessing high quality health care. Little is known about how best to provide specialist primary care for these patients. Aim: To evaluate the health care p...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Royal College of General Practitioners
2020-07-01
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| Series: | BJGP Open |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://bjgpopen.org/content/4/3/bjgpopen20X101049 |
| _version_ | 1828471947507269632 |
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| author | Emily Clark Emily Player Tara Gillam Sarah Hanson Nicholas Steel |
| author_facet | Emily Clark Emily Player Tara Gillam Sarah Hanson Nicholas Steel |
| author_sort | Emily Clark |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: People experiencing homelessness (PEH) often experience poor health, multimorbidity, and early mortality and experience barriers to accessing high quality health care. Little is known about how best to provide specialist primary care for these patients. Aim: To evaluate the health care provided to patients experiencing homelessness who were seen in a specialist primary care service. Design & setting: A qualitative evaluation of a city centre primary healthcare service for excluded and vulnerable people, such as rough sleepers, who find it difficult to visit mainstream GP services. Method: Data on patient characteristics and service use were extracted from primary care records using electronic and free-text searches to provide context to the evaluation. Semi-structured interviews with 11 patients and four staff were used to explore attitudes and experiences. Results: Patients had high needs compared with the general population. Patients valued continuity of care, ease of access, multidisciplinary care, and person-centred care. Staff were concerned that they lacked opportunities for reflection and learning, and that low clinical capacity affected service safety and quality. Staff also wanted more patient involvement in service planning. Conclusion: PEH’s complex health and social problems benefited from a specialist primary care service, which is thought to reduce barriers to access, treat potentially challenging patients in a non-judgmental way, and provide personal continuity of care in order to develop trust. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T05:20:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a60d4d470d4646b0aa278213eb1d8690 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2398-3795 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T05:20:25Z |
| publishDate | 2020-07-01 |
| publisher | Royal College of General Practitioners |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BJGP Open |
| spelling | doaj.art-a60d4d470d4646b0aa278213eb1d86902022-12-22T01:19:42ZengRoyal College of General PractitionersBJGP Open2398-37952020-07-014310.3399/bjgpopen20X101049Evaluating a specialist primary care service for patients experiencing homelessness: a qualitative studyEmily Clark0Emily Player1Tara Gillam2Sarah Hanson3Nicholas Steel4Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UKFaculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UKNorwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UKNorwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UKNorwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UKBackground: People experiencing homelessness (PEH) often experience poor health, multimorbidity, and early mortality and experience barriers to accessing high quality health care. Little is known about how best to provide specialist primary care for these patients. Aim: To evaluate the health care provided to patients experiencing homelessness who were seen in a specialist primary care service. Design & setting: A qualitative evaluation of a city centre primary healthcare service for excluded and vulnerable people, such as rough sleepers, who find it difficult to visit mainstream GP services. Method: Data on patient characteristics and service use were extracted from primary care records using electronic and free-text searches to provide context to the evaluation. Semi-structured interviews with 11 patients and four staff were used to explore attitudes and experiences. Results: Patients had high needs compared with the general population. Patients valued continuity of care, ease of access, multidisciplinary care, and person-centred care. Staff were concerned that they lacked opportunities for reflection and learning, and that low clinical capacity affected service safety and quality. Staff also wanted more patient involvement in service planning. Conclusion: PEH’s complex health and social problems benefited from a specialist primary care service, which is thought to reduce barriers to access, treat potentially challenging patients in a non-judgmental way, and provide personal continuity of care in order to develop trust.https://bjgpopen.org/content/4/3/bjgpopen20X101049inequalitiespatient perspectivesmental healthhomeless personspeople experiencing homelessnessprimary health caregeneral practice |
| spellingShingle | Emily Clark Emily Player Tara Gillam Sarah Hanson Nicholas Steel Evaluating a specialist primary care service for patients experiencing homelessness: a qualitative study BJGP Open inequalities patient perspectives mental health homeless persons people experiencing homelessness primary health care general practice |
| title | Evaluating a specialist primary care service for patients experiencing homelessness: a qualitative study |
| title_full | Evaluating a specialist primary care service for patients experiencing homelessness: a qualitative study |
| title_fullStr | Evaluating a specialist primary care service for patients experiencing homelessness: a qualitative study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluating a specialist primary care service for patients experiencing homelessness: a qualitative study |
| title_short | Evaluating a specialist primary care service for patients experiencing homelessness: a qualitative study |
| title_sort | evaluating a specialist primary care service for patients experiencing homelessness a qualitative study |
| topic | inequalities patient perspectives mental health homeless persons people experiencing homelessness primary health care general practice |
| url | https://bjgpopen.org/content/4/3/bjgpopen20X101049 |
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