Veronica Sacco, Paul Stolee, Ellen MacEachen, Veronique Boscart
{"title":"Canadian Health Care Providers' Perspectives on Working with Older Homeless Adults in Outreach Settings.","authors":"Veronica Sacco, Paul Stolee, Ellen MacEachen, Veronique Boscart","doi":"10.1017/S0714980823000405","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Service providers have a unique understanding of older homeless adults' challenges and service needs. However, research on the experiences of health care providers (HCPs) who work with this population is limited. We aimed to gain a better understanding of the experiences (roles, challenges, and rewards) of HCPs who work with older homeless adults (age 50 and over) in outreach settings. We conducted individual semi-structured interviews with 10 HCPs who worked in these roles. Four themes emerged: (a) the client-provider relationship as an essential building block to HCPs' work; (b) progression of care that acknowledges the \"whole person\"; (c) collaboration as integral to providers' work; and (d) the importance of system navigation. Providers found their work personally and professionally fulfilling but were frustrated by system-level challenges. Findings can be used to identify strategies on how to further support providers in their roles and enhance service provision for older homeless individuals.</p>","PeriodicalId":47613,"journal":{"name":"Canadian Journal on Aging-Revue Canadienne Du Vieillissement","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7000,"publicationDate":"2024-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Canadian Journal on Aging-Revue Canadienne Du Vieillissement","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S0714980823000405","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2023/12/7 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"GERONTOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Service providers have a unique understanding of older homeless adults' challenges and service needs. However, research on the experiences of health care providers (HCPs) who work with this population is limited. We aimed to gain a better understanding of the experiences (roles, challenges, and rewards) of HCPs who work with older homeless adults (age 50 and over) in outreach settings. We conducted individual semi-structured interviews with 10 HCPs who worked in these roles. Four themes emerged: (a) the client-provider relationship as an essential building block to HCPs' work; (b) progression of care that acknowledges the "whole person"; (c) collaboration as integral to providers' work; and (d) the importance of system navigation. Providers found their work personally and professionally fulfilling but were frustrated by system-level challenges. Findings can be used to identify strategies on how to further support providers in their roles and enhance service provision for older homeless individuals.
期刊介绍:
The Canadian Journal on Aging/La Revue canadienne du vieillissement (CJA/RCV) promotes excellence in research and disseminates the latest work of researchers in the social sciences, humanities, health and biological sciences who study the older population of Canada and other countries; informs policy debates relevant to aging through the publication of the highest quality research; seeks to improve the quality of life for Canada"s older population and for older populations in other parts of the world through the publication of research that focuses on the broad range of relevant issues from income security to family relationships to service delivery and best practices.