WGU D581 Task 2| Passed on First Attempt |Latest
Update with Complete Solution
Michael Mcalister
D581 Task 2
A. Describe the research topic you will explore.
I am going to research how being homeless limits access to health care, mental health care, and
preventative care for families with children even though they have health insurance. In addition
to providing research on what prevents families with health insurance from getting the health
care they need due to their homelessness, I will also investigate ways to increase health care
access for homeless families.
B. Identify three peer-reviewed research studies that support the topic described in part
A. Selected studies should be published in the last 25 years if appropriate for the topic.
Provide the following for each of the three research studies:
Study 1
1. Family Homelessness: State or Trait?
2. American Journal of Community Psychology
Study 2
1. Universal Health Insurance and Health Care Access for Homeless Persons
2. American Journal of Public Health
Study 3
1. The Unmet Health Care Needs of Homeless Adults: A National Study
2. American Journal of Public Health
C. Summarize each of the three research studies identified in part B by doing the
following:
Study 1: Family Homelessness: State or Trait? (Shinn, 1997)
1. The primary purpose of the research study was to find out whether homeless families'
homelessness was a result of environmental factors and therefore temporary or whether it
resulted from an individual's characteristics and therefore permanent, by tracking 564
homeless families in New York City for five years.
, 2. The researchers found that homelessness is primarily a result of the environment and
therefore can be considered as a temporary condition since when 80% of these families
were given low-cost housing, all but two of them were able to maintain stable housing for
a period of at least one year. The authors stated that individual characteristics such as
level of education, substance abuse history, and mental illness did not predict housing
stability once housing subsidies were provided. Thus, the primary reason that homeless
families were no longer homeless was the provision of housing subsidies and not their
individual characteristics.
3. Based upon this study, homelessness can be considered as a housing issue and not a
personal deficit issue. Therefore, the barriers that prevent homeless families from
accessing healthcare can also be considered as structural issues and not individual issues.
Since the provision of housing resolved the families' homelessness, it is likely that
providing families with stable housing may help improve their healthcare access and
overall health.
Study 2: Universal Health Insurance and Health Care Access for Homeless Persons
(Hwang et al., 2010)
1. The researchers conducted this study to examine unmet healthcare needs and barriers
to healthcare access among homeless individuals in Toronto's universal health insurance
system to determine if universal coverage would ensure healthcare access for homeless
populations.
2. The results indicated that despite universal coverage, 17% of the homeless participants
reported unmet healthcare needs which was significantly higher than the general
population. Women who were homeless and had dependent children reported unmet
needs at twice the rate of the general population. The researchers found that young age,
physical assault victimization, and lower mental and physical health scores predicted
unmet needs. They concluded that although universal coverage eliminated many financial
barriers to healthcare, other non-financial barriers continue to exist including
transportation, competing survival priorities, stigma, and system navigation challenges.
3. This study demonstrates that eliminating financial barriers through universal coverage
does not remove all barriers to healthcare access for homeless families. Homeless women
with children reported unmet needs at twice the rate of the general population. To achieve
adequate healthcare access for homeless families, non-financial barriers must also be
addressed.
Update with Complete Solution
Michael Mcalister
D581 Task 2
A. Describe the research topic you will explore.
I am going to research how being homeless limits access to health care, mental health care, and
preventative care for families with children even though they have health insurance. In addition
to providing research on what prevents families with health insurance from getting the health
care they need due to their homelessness, I will also investigate ways to increase health care
access for homeless families.
B. Identify three peer-reviewed research studies that support the topic described in part
A. Selected studies should be published in the last 25 years if appropriate for the topic.
Provide the following for each of the three research studies:
Study 1
1. Family Homelessness: State or Trait?
2. American Journal of Community Psychology
Study 2
1. Universal Health Insurance and Health Care Access for Homeless Persons
2. American Journal of Public Health
Study 3
1. The Unmet Health Care Needs of Homeless Adults: A National Study
2. American Journal of Public Health
C. Summarize each of the three research studies identified in part B by doing the
following:
Study 1: Family Homelessness: State or Trait? (Shinn, 1997)
1. The primary purpose of the research study was to find out whether homeless families'
homelessness was a result of environmental factors and therefore temporary or whether it
resulted from an individual's characteristics and therefore permanent, by tracking 564
homeless families in New York City for five years.
, 2. The researchers found that homelessness is primarily a result of the environment and
therefore can be considered as a temporary condition since when 80% of these families
were given low-cost housing, all but two of them were able to maintain stable housing for
a period of at least one year. The authors stated that individual characteristics such as
level of education, substance abuse history, and mental illness did not predict housing
stability once housing subsidies were provided. Thus, the primary reason that homeless
families were no longer homeless was the provision of housing subsidies and not their
individual characteristics.
3. Based upon this study, homelessness can be considered as a housing issue and not a
personal deficit issue. Therefore, the barriers that prevent homeless families from
accessing healthcare can also be considered as structural issues and not individual issues.
Since the provision of housing resolved the families' homelessness, it is likely that
providing families with stable housing may help improve their healthcare access and
overall health.
Study 2: Universal Health Insurance and Health Care Access for Homeless Persons
(Hwang et al., 2010)
1. The researchers conducted this study to examine unmet healthcare needs and barriers
to healthcare access among homeless individuals in Toronto's universal health insurance
system to determine if universal coverage would ensure healthcare access for homeless
populations.
2. The results indicated that despite universal coverage, 17% of the homeless participants
reported unmet healthcare needs which was significantly higher than the general
population. Women who were homeless and had dependent children reported unmet
needs at twice the rate of the general population. The researchers found that young age,
physical assault victimization, and lower mental and physical health scores predicted
unmet needs. They concluded that although universal coverage eliminated many financial
barriers to healthcare, other non-financial barriers continue to exist including
transportation, competing survival priorities, stigma, and system navigation challenges.
3. This study demonstrates that eliminating financial barriers through universal coverage
does not remove all barriers to healthcare access for homeless families. Homeless women
with children reported unmet needs at twice the rate of the general population. To achieve
adequate healthcare access for homeless families, non-financial barriers must also be
addressed.
