Health care needs for children of the recently homeless

Thirty families were surveyed at a shelter for the homeless in San Diego, California concerning the health care status and needs of their children. 56.7% of the families had no regular source of health care and 46.6% were not covered by any form of health coverage. Children whose families had a regular source of health care were more likely to have reported better health and more frequent checkups. Also, increased duration of homelessness was predictably correlated with poorer reported health of the children. Though the families sampled were representative of those recently made homeless i.e. less than six months, needs were identified that would be applicable to all homeless families. The most frequent needs the families expressed for their children were: general nonemergency clinics (76.7%), emergency services (66.7%), and dental services (66.7%). Nutritional and dietary counseling were chosen by 43.3% and only 6.7% of the parents rated social and psychological services as needed.