{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T03:41:07Z","timestamp":1792035667935,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":23,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,4]],"date-time":"2024-12-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1733270400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Street medicine is a health delivery model designed to provide direct patient care to people experiencing unsheltered homelessness where they are physically located, whether that be on the streets or in encampments. The model has developed in response to the barriers people experiencing homelessness (PEH) encounter when accessing care through traditional points of access such as primary care clinics. Street medicine programs are rapidly emerging across the United States (U.S.) in response to the health needs and challenges associated with care access and coordination for unsheltered homeless individuals. Although street medicine is a rapidly growing field, existing street medicine programs have rarely been studied collectively, limiting our understanding of the nature, scope, and range of street medicine programs in the U.S. This study examined 13 programs from across the U.S. to develop a broad characterization of street medicine programs. Results from interviews with representatives from each of the 13 programs show that there is a high degree of variability among the structure, operations, and scope of care of street medicine programs. However, consistent among street medicine programs is the adoption of a patient-centered approach to care and the use of harm-reduction principles. Street medicine programs are also highly engaged with community partners and affiliate organizations that work in their local and regional areas. Because street medicine programs often serve as a bridge between formal healthcare entities and PEH, street medicine offers a strategy for reconnecting individuals to vital healthcare services.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph21121623","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,4]],"date-time":"2024-12-04T04:47:22Z","timestamp":1733287642000},"page":"1623","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["A Qualitative Study to Describe the Nature and Scope of Street Medicine Programs in the United States"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Teresa","family":"Medellin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Pharmacy, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Leticia R.","family":"Moczygemba","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Pharmacy, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3208-4021","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Whitney","family":"Thurman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Nursing, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"de Sousa, T., Andrichik, A., Prestera, E., Rush, K., Tano, C., and Wheeler, M. (2023). The 2023 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR to Congress) Part 1: Point-In-Time Estimates of Homelessness, December 2023."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"765","DOI":"10.1177\/0033354916667501","article-title":"Homelessness, Unsheltered Status, and Risk Factors for Mortality","volume":"131","author":"Montgomery","year":"2016","journal-title":"Public Health Rep."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1242","DOI":"10.1001\/jamainternmed.2018.2924","article-title":"Mortality Among Unsheltered Homeless Adults in Boston, Massachusetts, 2000\u20132009","volume":"178","author":"Roncarati","year":"2018","journal-title":"JAMA Intern. Med."},{"key":"ref_4","unstructured":"Rountree, J., Hess, N., and Lyke, A. (2024, November 23). Health Conditions Among Unsheltered Adults in the U.S. Available online: https:\/\/escholarship.org\/uc\/item\/44c5j3qz."},{"key":"ref_5","unstructured":"(2024, July 24). 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Med."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"239","DOI":"10.1097\/QMH.0b013e3181bee2d9","article-title":"Delivering health care on the streets: Challenges and opportunities for quality management","volume":"18","author":"Howe","year":"2009","journal-title":"Qual. Manag. Health Care"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kaufman, R.A., Mallick, M., Louis, J.T., Williams, M., and Oriol, N. (2024). The Role of Street Medicine and Mobile Clinics for Persons Experiencing Homelessness: A Scoping Review. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 21.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph21060760"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"83","DOI":"10.1016\/j.drugpo.2017.12.011","article-title":"Sheltering risks: Implementation of harm reduction in homeless shelters during an overdose emergency","volume":"53","author":"Wallace","year":"2017","journal-title":"Int. J. Drug Policy"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e240229","DOI":"10.1001\/jamanetworkopen.2024.0229","article-title":"Patient and Staff Perspectives on the Impacts and Challenges of Hospital-Based Harm Reduction","volume":"7","author":"Thomas","year":"2024","journal-title":"JAMA Netw. Open"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Estacio, E.V., Oliver, M., Downing, B., Kurth, J., and Protheroe, J. (2017). Effective Partnership in Community-Based Health Promotion: Lessons from the Health Literacy Partnership. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph14121550"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"378","DOI":"10.1017\/S1463423617000895","article-title":"Strengthening primary health care through primary care and public health collaboration: The influence of intrapersonal and interpersonal factors","volume":"19","author":"Valaitis","year":"2018","journal-title":"Prim. Health Care Res. Dev."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"84","DOI":"10.1370\/afm.2639","article-title":"House Calls without Walls: Street Medicine Delivers Primary Care to Unsheltered Persons Experiencing Homelessness","volume":"19","author":"Stefanowicz","year":"2021","journal-title":"Ann. Fam. Med."},{"key":"ref_20","unstructured":"Feldman, B.J., Feldman, C.T., Kogan, A.C., Saluja, S., and Cousineau, M. (2024, November 23). The Califorinia Street Medicine Landscape Survey and Report. Available online: https:\/\/www.chcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/CAStreetMedLandscapeSurveyReport.pdf."},{"key":"ref_21","unstructured":"(2024, September 13). 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Health Care Poor Underserved"}],"container-title":["International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/21\/12\/1623\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T16:46:38Z","timestamp":1760114798000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/21\/12\/1623"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,4]]},"references-count":23,"journal-issue":{"issue":"12","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,12]]}},"alternative-id":["ijerph21121623"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ijerph21121623","relation":{},"ISSN":["1660-4601"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1660-4601","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,4]]}}}