This resource, developed by the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, provides valuable information about asthma, it’s effects on homeless patients and the subsequent treatment recommendations.
Clinicians practicing in Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) projects and others who provide care to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness routinely adapt their practice to foster better outcomes for these patients.
Standard clinical practice guidelines fail to take into consideration the special challenges faced by homeless patients that may limit their ability to adhere to a plan of care. Recognizing the gap between established guidelines and clinical practices used by health care providers experienced in the care of individuals who are homeless, the HCH Clinicians’ Network has made the adaptation of clinical practice guidelines for homeless patients one of its top priorities.
In 2002–2003, the HCH Clinicians’ Network convened an advisory committee of primary care practitioners to develop special recommendations for the care of people with asthma who are homeless. These recommended clinical practice adaptations were reviewed and revised in 2008 to assure their consistency with the 2007 NAEPP/NHLBI Expert Panel Report 3: Guidelines for the iagnosis and Management of Asthma (EPR 2007) and with best practices in homeless health care.
We offer this second edition of Adapting Your Practice: Treatment and Recommendations for Homeless Patients with Asthma to promote continued improvement in the quality of asthma care provided to adults and children whose lack of financial and social resources complicate the treatment and self-management of their chronic disease. (Authors)