Harvard Medical School, 200 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2024 Jun 12;21(6):760. doi: 10.3390/ijerph21060760.
An estimated 5800 to 46,500 lives are lost due to homelessness each year. Experiencing homelessness and poor health are cyclically related, with one reinforcing the other. Mobile programs, which include vehicles that travel to deliver care, and street medicine, the act of bringing care to spaces where PEH live, may play a role in alleviating this burden by providing trusted, affordable, and accessible care to this community.
We conducted a scoping review of peer-reviewed literature on the role of mobile clinics and street medicine in providing care for PEH by searching PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science on 10 August 2023. Articles from 2013 to 2023 specific to programs in the United States were included. The protocol was developed following the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. The primary outcome was the role of mobile programs for persons experiencing homelessness.
A total of 15 articles were included in this review. The descriptive findings emphasized that street medicine and mobile clinics provide primary care, behavioral health, and social services. The utilization findings indicate that street medicine programs positively impact the health system through their ability to defer emergency department and hospital visits, providing financial benefits. The comparative findings between mobile programs and office-based programs indicate current successes and areas for improvement.
Mobile clinics and street medicine programs that serve PEH provide a wide range of services. While more significant structural change is needed to address healthcare costs and housing policies in the United States, mobile clinics and street medicine teams can improve healthcare access and the healthcare system.
据估计，每年有 5800 至 46500 人因无家可归而丧生。无家可归和健康状况不佳是循环相关的，一个会加强另一个。移动项目，包括前往提供护理的车辆，以及街头医疗，即为无家可归者居住的场所提供护理的行为，通过为这个社区提供可信赖、负担得起和可及的护理，可能在缓解这一负担方面发挥作用。
我们在 2023 年 8 月 10 日通过搜索 PubMed、Embase 和 Web of Science，对同行评议文献进行了范围综述，以了解移动诊所和街头医疗在为无家可归者提供护理方面的作用。纳入了 2013 年至 2023 年美国特定项目的文章。该方案是按照 PRISMA-ScR 指南制定的。主要结果是移动项目对无家可归者的作用。
本综述共纳入 15 篇文章。描述性研究结果强调，街头医疗和移动诊所提供初级保健、行为健康和社会服务。利用研究结果表明，街头医疗计划通过能够推迟急诊和住院治疗，提供经济利益，对卫生系统产生积极影响。移动项目与基于办公室的项目之间的比较研究结果表明了当前的成功之处和需要改进的领域。
为无家可归者服务的移动诊所和街头医疗计划提供了广泛的服务。虽然美国需要更大的结构性变革来解决医疗保健成本和住房政策问题，但移动诊所和街头医疗团队可以改善医疗保健的可及性和卫生系统。
