Health perceptions and medical utilization of people using small city homeless shelters
Abstract
This research studies how homeless men and women in small city homeless shelters perceive their own health status and the manner in which they utilize medical services. The data are collected by ethnographic methods and semi-structured interviews. Suchman's Stages of Illness (1965), Parsons' Sick Role (1951), and Stryker's Structural Symbolic Interaction (1980) are integrated to form Suchman's Stages of Illness for Homeless People. This adapted model will be used to explain observations regarding health perceptions and medical utilization. The analysis shows that length of the homeless episode makes no appreciable difference in reported ill health, but that the two groups differ in their use of conventional medical treatment. Short-term (ST) respondents are propelled toward medical treatment because they believe that the medical system will provide an avenue out of homelessness. Long-term (LT) respondents are propelled away from medical treatment because they believe that the medical system will treat them in a negative manner. Finally, the significance of this research as it relates to a revision of Parson's sick role, the utility of Suchman's Stages of Illness, and future implications for other homeless populations are offered.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Ferraro, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Welfare|Public health
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