COMMUNITY CASE STUDY article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Life-Course Epidemiology and Social Inequalities in Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1611410
This article is part of the Research TopicExploring the Multidimensional Impact of Homelessness on Health and Social InclusionView all 15 articles
Taking care of people experiencing homelessness: a community case study on the practice of the Volunteer Association 'A doctor for you' in Brescia, Italy
Provisionally accepted
Annalisa Pasini1,2*
Monica Amadini1,2*
Evasio Pasini3Francesco Puccio4*Claudio Seddio5Roberta Lovati5Paolo Bocci5- 1Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milano, Italy
- 2Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Brescia, Brescia, Lombardy, Italy
- 3University of Brescia, Brescia, Lombardy, Italy
- 4/, Volunteer Association ‘Un Medico per Te’, Brescia, Italy
- 5Volunteer Association ‘Un Medico per Te’, Brescia, Lombardy, Italy
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Introduction -Although homelessness is a much-studied phenomenon today, statistics indicate a steady increase in homelessness globally. UN General Assembly itself recommends implementing strategies through the commitment of the various stakeholders involved, among which health services are at the forefront. This current community case study details a specific research-practice partnership strategy -led in Brescia (Italy) in 2023 by the Association of volunteer doctors 'Un Medico x Te' (A doctor for you) and the Research Centre on Family and Childhood Education (CESPEFI) of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore -as an attempt to deepen the evaluation of peoples experiencing homelessness' health conditions in Brescia urban area and to promote best practices in granting population experiencing homelessness sustainable health-care approaches. Method -In phase 1, since chronic liver diseases are very common in people experiencing homelessness, to investigate the presence of these pathologies, the Association 'Un Medico x Te' carried out a preliminary observational retrospective echocardiographic cohort study in the population experiencing homelessness hosted in Brescia's housing services. In phase 2, CESPEFI led a research project to investigate the way health and healthcare is conceived by the homeless population living in Brescia urban area, according to the ethnographic methodological framework. Qualitative data were coded to explore emerging themes concerning the best practices to approach the population experiencing homelessness and to grant them appropriate care. At the end of the process internal guidelines were drawn up, based on greater attention to the relationship between doctors and patients experiencing homelessness and to the sustainability of the care-process.
Keywords: caring approaches1, health2, right to health3, invisibility4, multi-perspective approaches5
Received: 14 Apr 2025; Accepted: 30 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Pasini, Amadini, Pasini, Puccio, Seddio, Lovati and Bocci. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Annalisa Pasini, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milano, Italy
Monica Amadini, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Brescia, Brescia, 25121, Lombardy, Italy
Francesco Puccio, /, Volunteer Association ‘Un Medico per Te’, Brescia, Italy
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