People experiencing homelessness: Their potential exposure to COVID-19.
BACKGROUND
Insufficient housing quality is associated with stress and mental health impacts. Crowding, pollution, noise, inadequate lighting, lack of access to green spaces, and other environmental factors associated with slums can exacerbate mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety, violence, and other forms of social dysfunction.


METHOD
The studies were identified using large-sized newspapers with international circulation.


RESULTS
Experts say that people who sleep in shelters or on the streets already have lower life expectancy, suffer from addiction, and have underlying health conditions that put them at greater risk should they develop the virus. There are just so many competing and unmet needs, which makes it much harder for homeless to contend with all of this. If exposed, people experiencing homelessness might be more susceptible to illness or death due to the prevalence of underlying physical and mental medical conditions and a lack of reliable and affordable health care. Nevertheless, without an urgent solution, people experiencing homelessness will remain in limbo.


CONCLUSIONS
Many people living on the streets already have a diminished health condition, higher rates of chronic illnesses or compromised immune systems, all of which are risk factors for developing a more serious manifestation of the coronavirus infection. Those suffering from mental illness may have difficulty in recognizing and responding to the threat of infection. Homeless people have less access to health care providers who could otherwise order diagnostic testing and, if confirmed, isolate them from others in coordination with local health departments.
['Lima|Nádia Nara Rolim|NNR|', 'de Souza|Ricardo Inácio|RI|', 'Feitosa|Pedro Walisson Gomes|PWG|', 'Moreira|Jorge Lucas de Sousa|JLS|', 'da Silva|Claudio Gleidiston Lima|CGL|', 'Neto|Modesto Leite Rolim|MLR|']
D001008:Anxiety Disorders D000073640:Betacoronavirus D000086382:COVID-19 D018352:Coronavirus Infections D005260:Female D006297:Health Services Accessibility D006703:Homeless Persons D006798:Housing D006801:Humans D008297:Male D001523:Mental Disorders D008603:Mental Health D058873:Pandemics D011024:Pneumonia, Viral D012307:Risk Factors D000086402:SARS-CoV-2 D035862:Vulnerable Populations
People experiencing homelessness Mental health disorders 2019 Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)