Appraising Health Policy and Practice on the Issue of Homelessness (Research Proposal Sample)

6HL006/UM1: Appraising Health Policy and Practice
HOMELESSNESS
by Phumzile Ncube
The Name course: Health Studies
The Date: 6th June 2022
Wordcount: 2630
Student Number: 1812438
Homelessness
Introduction
This is a policy appraisal that will identify the current health issue of homelessness, after which the Homeless Reduction Act, a public health policy, will be analyzed. The Homeless Reduction Act will be critically evaluated to investigate how the policy has been constructed and consider how social perspectives, and drivers have influenced the policy. An analysis of this policy will be done using Bacchi's model to evaluate its effectiveness, after which the necessary amendments will be made. Lastly, a strategy of influencing policy makers will also be proposed.
Introduction of Health Issue
Homelessness is becoming an issue of concern in the UK as years advance. Drive through any city centre and you are certain to notice at least one, if not many, homeless families live along the sidewalks or in homeless camps. There are many diverse kinds of homelessness including hidden homelessness, rough sleeping, statutory homelessness, and those locked in temporary shelters, accommodation, or hostels. The UK statistics hidden homelessness, also known as sofa surfing, is practically impossible to count as persons staying with their families or friends do not count themselves as homeless (Crisis, 2022).  Tens of thousands of individuals and families across the United Kingdom are experiencing the most severe kinds of homelessness, including over 200,000 England households (Crisis, 2022). Core homelessness in England has been increasing each year for the last five years, hitting a peak shortly before the pandemic when the number of homeless households increased from 207,600 in 2018 to over 219,000 towards the end of 2019 (Crisis, 2022). By the time 2021 ended, 1,227,000 households in the United Kingdom were facing the most severe types of homelessness (Crisis, 2022). Due to such an increase, it is imperative to understand what escalates this increment in the number of homeless people in the UK.
Further, there still exist vast inequalities in the population of homeless people. Research indicates that the homeless have more difficulty accessing health and social care services than other population groups (Seria-Walker, 2018). This is frequently due to services being separate and unconnected, making it difficult for users to browse and use. Many are vulnerable individuals with complex needs and suffering from mental health disorders and substance misuse, but they are unable to get the treatments they require to recover. In addition, they also have physical health conditions that are exacerbated by living on the streets. As a result of these inequalities, it becomes critical to understand the type of policies governing this issue of homelessness.
Health Issue Context
There are many structural and individual factors that cause homelessness. Some of these structural causes include a lack of affordable housing, reduced welfare provision, tighter mortgage regulations, growing families fragmentation, and a decline in social sector housing (Batterham, 2019, 5). Further, the individual factors causing homelessness include mental illnesses, addictions, discharge from prison, financial difficulties, relationship breakdown, especially when women run away from domestic and violent marriages, and departure from the care system (Batterham, 2019, 12). However, the structural factors are highly likely to cause homelessness than the individual factors.
System Map
Social Determinants of Homelessness
Home and childhood environment is one of the social determinants of homelessness that falls within the bottom part of the diagram above. Childhood events appear to be resonant in the thoughts of homeless individuals who believe that their childhood experiences have an influence on their homelessness (Clifford et al., 2019). For example, when children have traumatic experiences at a young age, it becomes more likely that they will end up being homeless. Such is influenced by the fact that they may end up running from their homes which they feel is not the best place. Dysfunctional families create harmful home environments for children.
School life experiences are also a social determinant of homelessness that come second in the socio-ecological model above. Poor education experiences are a major factor contributing to children's homelessness (Clifford et al., 2019, 1127). When children lack education, they engage in other harmful activities like crimes and addictions. In the end, they are chased out of their schools due to their bad habits, which become a risk factor for homelessness as they join street gangs. Nonetheless, children with good school life experiences hardly get kicked out of school, which reduces the probability of joining schools.
Also, personal lifestyle is the third social determinant of homelessness evident in the socio-ecological model above. When a person's lifestyle is characterized by substance use, participation in criminal activities, and movements between the jail, and hospitals, it is more likely that they will