School of Medicine

This focused clinical multidisciplinary independent study project (ISP) was designed to improve my understanding in the area of homeless hygiene challenges through a range of clinical and non-clinincal experiences. The project focused on the following goals: 1) Gain an understanding of the scope and impact of hygiene problems faced by the homeless population, a) appreciate the social, financial, and health impacts of homeless hygiene problems; 2) understand homeless hygiene problems from the different perspectives of the various stakeholders in the San Diego community; 3) understand the prioritization of hygiene problems from the perspectives of different community stakeholders; 4) gain insight into the reasons for the successes and failures of prior and current interventions; 5) learn about the acceptance or rejection of different types of interventions by various stakeholders in the community; 6) gain knowledge about the network of charitable programs and resources currently available to the homeless; 7) gain experience in relating to homeless patients and appreciation of the challenges they face; 8) establish the underlying knowledge and understanding suitable for creating and implementing future interventions to address homeless hygiene problems.