Trudności i wyzwania działań z zakresu promocji zdrowia wśród osób bezdomnych
Difficulties and challenges of health promotion activities among homeless people

Summary/Abstract: Homelessness is the kind of crisis in a person’s life that has a very strong impact on the individual’s actions in all dimensions of health, on his daily choices and on the hierarchy of needs. The struggle for survival and the need to meet basic needs excludes focusing on one’s own health and taking care of its good condition, and even often promotes its deterioration. The problem of the health of homeless people and the lifestyle they have adopted most clearly shows that health promotion must not be limited to catchy media slogans or simple tips on how to live a healthy life. It requires taking into account a number of different variables and, above all, the whole social context. The aim of the prepared article is to try to answer the question of the possibility and effectiveness of health promotion activities among excluded groups, for example among homeless people. On the basis of his own research conducted among homeless people in the shelters in city of Łódź and among employees of these institutions, the author tries to answer the question of what is the state of knowledge of homeless people about the health-promoting lifestyle, what health-related behaviors are characteristic for this group, but above all what factors influence lifestyle, including health choices, and shape the health of marginalized people.

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