Dual Systematic Review Characterizing the Relationship Between Homelessness and Infectious Diseases

Exposure to infectious and sexually transmitted diseases often results in weakened immune systems, resulting in increased susceptibility to chronic diseases; especially populations experiencing homelessness, who face elevated exposure to risk factors. However, there is very little consensus on the definition of homelessness, or exactly what factors contribute to chronic disease progression. This review seeks to characterize the relationship between one of the mediators, infectious diseases, and homelessness. Background: Exposure to infectious and sexually transmitted diseases often results in weakened immune systems, resulting in increased susceptibility to cardiovascular disease progression. Method: Data from articles retrieved from the PubMed database were utilized in a systematic review process to examine the correlation between homelessness and measures of access to healthcare. Systematic exclusion & abstraction of eligible articles was performed by two individuals reviewing sources, with adjudication of discrepancies by a third. Results: Search 8 (homelessness in relation to bacterial infection) had 190 articles, with 186 articles excluded from the review. Search 9 had 2,809 articles, with 2,772 excluded articles. Discussion: A majority of the articles concluded that there was an association between homelessness and infection prevalence. Although a majority of the articles concluded that homelessness did contribute to infectious disease prevalence, there were a few articles in the review that discussed multiple explanations as to how infectious disease is impacted by homelessness. For this reason, a clearer trend could be established through further research to analyze additional literature.