Date of Award

2011

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Nursing

Abstract

Homelessness places people at risk of stressors that translate into stress and subsequently affect their health. Using Neuman Systems Model as a framework to identify modalities for nursing intervention among stressors and health problems of homeless people, this study compared stress levels among homeless people from three different homeless housing program types, investigated variables that predict the presence of stress among homeless, identified the degree of self-reported contact homeless people had with nurses, and measured to what extent nurses are preferred as health care providers by homeless people. This was accomplished through a cross-sectional, secondary data analysis of data from the evaluation study for the Chicago Plan to End Homelessness. Instruments utilized included the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and BPTSD-6. The sample size was 398 participants aged 18 years or older who were English speaking and clients of a homeless housing program in Chicago. The data was analyzed using ANOVA, multiple regression, odds ratios, and chi-square tests. The results of the study suggested that there were no differences in stress between participants of housing program types, and the variables prompting further assessment of stress in homeless patients included living with an adult child, availability of family and friends, psychiatric problem perception and burden, and PTSD. The results of the study also suggested that nurses were second to physicians in being seen as well as preferred by homeless participants.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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