Response to homeless childbearing women's health care learning needs

The study findings showed that homeless childbearing women are at greatest risk for cancer, violence, poor nutrition, sexually transmitted infections, unplanned pregnancy, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Collaborating with personnel at a women's shelter, the authors studied homeless childbearing women's knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about general health promotion, healthy pregnancy promotion, and preterm labor prevention. Guided by the Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction and Change, 45 homeless women participated in focus groups. They were 28.7 years old (range 18-44 years), and approximately 87% of these women had custody of their children. Three themes identified included things you do to stay healthy during pregnancy, where you learned about staying healthy, and women's knowledge about preterm labor and general health promotion. These findings informed an 8-week educational session (1 hr/week). During the past year, four 8-week sessions were conducted with attendance between 8 and 14 participants. Each week a different health topic was discussed incorporating the associated unique challenges of homelessness.