Care for ill-housed persons: access and professional proactivity in primary care.
Lucas Alves Gontijo, Bruna Moreira da Silva, Marcelo Pedra Martins Machado and 5 others
PMID 40862430WHAT IT FOUND
Primary care staff in areas without street outreach teams described relying on spontaneous, crisis-driven demand.
Intersectoral links with social services and professional proactivity were essential to navigate barriers and provide care to homeless persons.
Key findings
01Access to primary care for homeless persons in these municipalities occurred primarily through spontaneous demand during acute situations rather than planned longitudinal care.
02Collaboration with social assistance services, such as shelters and specialized centers, facilitated referrals and helped overcome barriers to accessing health units.
03Participants identified the lack of registered family links and longitudinal monitoring as significant obstacles to providing comprehensive care.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study focused on only two municipalities in the Midwest region of Minas Gerais, Brazil, which may limit the transferability of findings to other geographic or cultural contexts. Participants were selected through intentional sampling, which may introduce bias regarding the types of professionals and experiences represented. The study did not include the perspectives of homeless persons themselves, relying solely on professional accounts of access and care.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the reliance on spontaneous demand and social service referrals as evidence of an effective or equitable care model. These findings describe how professionals navigate systemic gaps and barriers, not a recommended standard of practice for longitudinal health promotion.