Health Education for Homeless Populations

Homelessness is a growing phenomenon in the city of Flint, Michigan, and the development of chronic diseases is greatly effecting this population. Limited access to healthy food, elevated level of perceived stress, and frequent cigarette smoking among homeless populations increases their risk for developing chronic diseases such as hypertension and asthma. The purpose o f this project was to develop health education material and protocol in order to guide health education sessions within homeless populations. The project was developed for use by the AmeriCorps member serving at Hamilton Community Health Network. The targeted population for this project was homeless individuals over the age o f 18. The Health Belief Model, Theory of Reasoned Action, and Social Cognitive Theory were used in the development of this project. Additionally, pre/post surveys were used to evaluate the project’s effectiveness. This project will be will be successful in meeting the needs of the homeless community in Flint, Michigan, and therefore should be utilized as a training manual and protocol for conducting health education sessions.Master of ScienceHealth EducationUniversity of Michigan-Flinthttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143259/1/Smeenge.pd