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Homelessness increases the risk of individuals contracting infectious diseases and further complicates the ability to have access and adhere to appropriate treatment. One of the infectious agents that disproportionately impacts homeless population and in this case the homeless population in Texas community is the human immunodeficiency virus, commonly known as HIV. Living without a stable home or not having a home at all creates a variety of barriers to not only treatment but also the necessary preventive measures. Barriers, in this case, may include; lack of a safe place or area to store medication, limited access to both food and water and inability to maintain a high level of hygiene, effects of lifestyle factors (such as drug, alcohol, or tobacco use), exposure to extreme weather, nutritional deficiencies, and being victimized.

In a study conducted in the Texas by Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance in 2016 indicated that there had been an increase in the number of individuals who are homeless and consequently have reduced overall physical health. This research also found out that from 2011 to 2015, the rate of people living with HIV in the population of homeless individuals has increased from 3 percent to 6 percent. This then shows that this section of the population is at a much higher risk of getting infected by HIV (Feske, Teeter, Musser & Graviss, 2013).

One of the programs that the state of Texas has initiated to help in reducing this problem is the Housing Opportunities for Person with AIDS (HOPWA) which is run by the Texas Department of State Health Services. This housing program provides support and assistance services to low-income individuals who are living with HIV. The help, in this case, can vary including establishing or maintaining an affordable and stable housing ("Texas DSHS HIV/STD Program - HOPWA"). This then helps to reduce their risk to homelessness and in most cases provide housing. Consequently, this move has been instrumental in improving the access of these individuals to health care and supportive services. In this medical issue, homelessness is seen to be a significant influence and hence the need to solve it, so as to decrease the health problem.

The state of Texas also has a program known as the Continuum of Care (CoC) which is a Homeless Assistance program. The primary objective of this initiative is to reduce the rate and occurrence of homelessness in the communities in the state. This is done by assisting homeless persons and families in housing units that are either permanent or self-sufficient. The program has been successful in interventions and improvement of the health of these individuals. In a way, this program has assisted both homeless people either living with HIV or not in finding housing. This has, therefore, overtime helped to reduce the rate of infection, spreading and poor health ("Texas DSHS HIV/STD Program - HIV/STD Insider Archive").

One of the attributes that made these programs effective is that they are direct in the group of individuals that they want to help. In the first program described, the panel of people being helped is those who have HIV and are homeless. This then ensures that the targeted group receives the needed help with no or little hurdles. Despite the need for programs to be comprehensive, they must also be simple so as to be easily understood. The two programs, in this case, are simple but at the same time detailed and this then make them both fruitful and productive.

The rate of HIV infection among the homeless is not only caused by the fact they have no housing units. Many underlying issues relate to being homeless than may not necessarily be solved by providing housing units. A policy change that would help in this scenario would include the provision of medical coverage and assistance to these individuals. That is, apart from providing housing units, there should be the initiative of ensuring that these people have access to proper medical care. The issue, in this case, is to prevent the spread of HIV especially among the homeless (Wolitski, Kidder, & Fenton, 2007). Providing proper medical assistance, in this case, would help on issues such as ensuring that these people get tested regularly so that they know their status. It would also help to them to get help whenever they encounter opportunistic diseases that such as tuberculosis or meningitis.

Another objective of the policy would include providing sufficient information to the homeless individuals who may not have received housing help. The information, in this case, would include preventive measures and how to take care of themselves and still live to have long and fulfilling lives with the disease. Educating this population would be helpful in reducing the spread of this health issue. Another objective of this policy is to ensure that these individuals can have easy access to anti-viral medication assistance and hence improve their health significantly.

Studies have shown that 35 percent of new infections of HIV especially in homeless individuals come from lack of preventive precautions such as the use of medication while living with the disease. In most cases, the homeless have no sufficient funds to get by, let alone have money to spend on medication or seek medical assistance. They, therefore, often live for extended periods of time undiagnosed which then increases the chances of them infecting other individuals. By offering medical care and medication, the state may be able to keep track of people affected and by collaborating this with the supportive programs, significantly reduce the rate of new infections, especially in homeless individuals.

References

Feske, M. L., Teeter, L. D., Musser, J. M., & Graviss, E. A. (2013). Counting the homeless American journal of public health, 103(5), 839-848.