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Homeless Veterans

In: People

Submitted By TSampers
Words 2690
Pages 11
UOPX NUR471 | Homeless Veterans | A Vulnerable Population | | Tina Sampers | 4/29/12 |

Description of the selected population
The assumption that all veterans receive free health care and supported by the United States government is a sad misconception and unrealistic dream. Homeless veterans by definition are a group of individuals who have served in the United States military and do not have shelter, or home at night. The Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act offers a detailed definition of homeless to include no shelter as defined as nights spent in a car, abandoned building or on the streets, in a homeless shelter, transitional housing, or with family members or friends without paying rent (O'Toole, 2010).
Vulnerable population risk factors
Homeless veterans are a vulnerable population group by definition, because they are a subgroup of the population more likely to develop health problems or have worse problems from health problems due to exposures to risks not experienced by the rest of the population (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2008, p. 712). According to the Veterans Affairs (VA), an estimated 194,000 veterans nationwide were homeless on any given night during the fiscal year 2005 (GAO, 2006, p.2). The VA admits it is difficult to obtain accurate numbers and fear the actual numbers are much higher (GAO, 2006, p.2). Researchers completed numerous studies to differentiate the health problems associated with homeless veterans compared to health problems faced by homeless individuals who did not serve in the military. Veterans by comparison are more susceptible to a co-morbidity of substance abuse, physical, and mental health disease and disorders than the general homeless population and their inability to obtain or refusal to obtain treatment compounds their susceptibility to complications (Goldstein, 2010, pp 311-1312).

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