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Florida Public Health Review

Publication Date

5-28-2022

Abstract

Homelessness remains a core element of the current housing stability crisis in the United States, especially in urban communities. Disparities are an important part of the pathway to homelessness, but they alone are not enough to generate and perpetuate homelessness in the US. Therefore, it is crucial to analyze existing literature to provide an evidence-based framework to help inform homeless-related policies, programs, and interventions to improve the quality of life for homeless individuals. This scoping review aims to map the last five years' literature around homelessness in U.S. urban communities by utilizing the socioecological model to analyze system-based implicated factors. The PubMed database was used to search articles from 2016 to 2020. Included articles were based in the United States at urban communities involving homeless individuals or families. A total of 145 articles were found for screening. Forty-nine articles met the selection criteria. A Florida-based university street medicine team involved in this research project highlights the need for an interprofessional approach to homelessness. The results of this scoping review suggest that structural, systemic, and historical factors at all the levels of the socioecological model are implicated in the complex reality of homelessness in U.S. urban communities generating individual and collective disparities. Future research and practice need to elucidate the impact of intersectionality among factors associated with homelessness.

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