Meg Wilson, Health Behaviors of Homeless Women: Using a Cross-selectional, Descriptive, and Non Experimental Design

Abstract

If the housing crisis be lined with any silver at all, it is the possibility of a more nuanced picture of the homeless in America, and especially the homeless woman. While the total number has recently skyrocketed across the sociological spectrum, homeless families headed by single females represent the fastest single growing subgroup, representing some 40% of the total. As this situation is unlikely to change dramatically in the near future, the study by Meg Wilson on Health Behaviors of Homeless Women, recently published in Germany though in English, is a welcome contribution to an understanding of the challenges faced by this endangered population. While its principal target audience is the nursing community, the book is short and readable, easily accessible to a wider audience. By way of background, Dr. Wilson observes that the relationship among the factors contributing to the health and wellbeing of homeless women is insufficiently understood. Her study is designed to explore some of those factors in order to arrive at better practices not only among the assistance community, including especially nurses, but also the subjects themselves. She believes, with good reason, that homelessness is not synonymous with hopelessness. Not only do more effective, compassionate nursing practices contribute a great deal to advancing that difference; the women themselves, the subjects at risk, must find the strength required to emerge from the predicament of a shelter existence. Too often, caregivers assume a paternalistic (or maternalistic) attitude, however unconsciously. No matter how well meaning, such an approach is often counterproductive. This is particularly true in the area of health promotion. Increasingly popular, though still imperfectly understood, ‘‘health promotion’’ refers to behavior motivated by a desire for positive change in a person’s level of wellbeing, to a person’s overall lifestyle and attitude that includes both physical and psychological dimensions. By contrast, what is commonly known as ‘‘health care’’ refers to