Reducing skin cancer risk factors in the homeless population

• Main Author: Gingras, Elizabeth
• Other Authors: Stern, Aliza
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: Medicine
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/2144/32964

The homeless population is one of the most medically vulnerable patient populations in the world. They face numerous barriers to obtaining appropriate, timely health care and have many competing needs. As a consequence, they are more likely to present to hospitals and clinics with more advanced stages of diseases that could have been prevented. This poses a significant public health crisis and highlights a need to intervene and implement preventative tools in this population. Past studies have focused on the need for preventative resources for more immediately fatal disease processes. It is important to expand resources to include prevention for diseases that homelessness directly increases the risk of developing, such as skin cancer. The homeless population is at a much higher risk of developing skin cancer due to their chronic sun exposure and lack of access to appropriate sun protection. There is a significant gap in the medical literature regarding skin cancer prevention in the homeless. Existing research has collectively shown that the homeless are at high risk for developing skin cancer due to their increased number of risk factors. Additionally, the homeless have been shown to have a higher incidence of malignant/premalignant skin growths. All suggest the need to implement skin cancer prevention to reduce skin cancer risk factors among the homeless population. This proposal focuses on implementing prevention efforts in the homeless in the form of a dermatology intervention at a community health fair in order to reduce their risk factors for developing skin cancer in the future. The intervention will consist of education, free skin exams, and sun protective resources. The results of this study may provide a method to decrease skin cancer risk factors among the homeless that can be incorporated into local community health fairs. The dual public health crises of providing healthcare to the homeless and the rising rates of skin cancer are addressed by proposing an innovative intervention to decrease skin cancer risk factors in this highly susceptible population of people.