There are well-established relationships between health and homelessness, and shelters can facilitate the transmission of diseases and contribute to their prevention. Adequate environmental health ...conditions and hygiene behaviors in homeless shelters are fundamental to the health of their clients, a marginalized population. We report the status of environmental health conditions and hygiene behaviors in homeless shelters and associated health outcomes; interventions to improve these conditions, behaviors, and outcomes; and obstacles to improvement.
PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and EBSCOhost were searched for peer-reviewed studies, and additional sources for grey literature. Studies were included if they reported primary data on one or more environmental health condition or hygiene behavior in homeless shelters.
Twenty-eight studies were included in the review. Insufficient ventilation systems, unhygienic bedding, and overcrowding were the most documented environmental health and hygiene deficiencies in homeless shelters, and tuberculosis infections and skin diseases were the most documented associated health outcomes among clients. Studies frequently recommended or described implementation of behavioral and administrative controls, ventilation system improvements, and ultraviolet germicidal irradiation fixtures.
Most studies addressed airborne transmission of tuberculosis and were conducted in high-income countries, revealing an imbalance in the literature. Insufficient resources and the transience of clients are barriers to improving hygiene behaviors and environmental conditions in homeless shelters. Further investment and research into ensuring adequate hygiene and environmental health in this setting can protect and promote the health and well-being of people experiencing homelessness.
•This review describes environmental health and hygiene in homeless shelters.•Inadequate ventilation, unhygienic bedding, and overcrowding were often documented.•TB and skin diseases were the most documented health outcomes among clients.•Some studies described or recommended behavioral and administrative interventions.•Insufficient resources and transience of clients impede shelter improvements.
Adequate hygiene behaviors and environmental health conditions are fundamental to children's health, development, and well-being. They are especially important in institutional care settings for ...orphaned and abandoned children, a particularly vulnerable population whose basic needs are often not met.
We systematically reviewed the evidence about hygiene behaviors and environmental health conditions in institutional care settings for children and associated health outcomes; interventions to improve these behaviors, conditions, and outcomes; and obstacles to improvement.
PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and EBSCOhost were searched for studies in the peer-reviewed and grey literature. Studies were included if they reported primary data on one or more environmental health condition or hygiene behavior in an institutional care setting for orphaned and abandoned children.
Forty-five publications reporting on over 500 institutions in 29 countries were included. The most documented concern was poor personal hygiene behaviors followed by inadequate water and sanitation infrastructure and overcrowding. Protozoan, helminthic, viral infections, and diarrheal illness among institutionalized children were the most commonly documented associated health outcomes.
More studies documented the status of hygiene and environmental health in children's institutions than interventions to improve behaviors and conditions. Insufficient finances and expertise or involvement of caregivers are reported barriers to implementing improvements in children's institutions. The development of guidelines for essential environmental health standards in orphanages, monitoring of facility conditions, accountability for facility deficiencies, and implementation research to identify improvement opportunities would contribute to and promote the health and development of orphaned and abandoned children worldwide.
Environmental health and hygiene exposures (blue) and health outcomes (red) in institutions for orphaned and abandoned children. Arrows represent potential associations as identified in the literature. Darker lines are indicative of the relative number of studies documenting this potential association. Display omitted
•Poor environmental health conditions adversely affect orphan health.•This review describes hygiene behaviors and environmental conditions in orphanages.•Inadequate water and sanitation and overcrowding are common in orphanages.•There are few studies on improving health behaviors and conditions in orphanages.•Insufficient funding and caregiver expertise on hygiene and health impede improvement.
The objective of this work was to study and identify the macroscopic fungal in “La Estación Las Palomas” in the sierra of Santa Rosa, Guanajuato. We take photographs of the fungi in the months of ...July-September of 2008, and were identified by the keys reported previously. We identified 46 different species of macroscopic fungi like Amanita muscaria, Lepiota sp, Helvella lacunosa, Psilocybe coprophila, Polyporellus arcularius, Amanita fulva and Amanita pantherina.
El objetivo de este trabajo fue el estudio e identificación de hongos macroscópicos en “La Estación Las Palomas”, de la Sierra de Santa Rosa, Guanajuato, tomando las características macroscópicas y fotografías del los hongos, ruante los meses de Juio-septiembre del 2008, y se identificaron por las claves reportadas. Se identificaron 46 diferentes especies de hongos macromicetos como: Amanita muscaria, Lepiota sp, Helvella lacunosa, Psilocybe coprophila, Polyporellus arcularius, Amanita fulva and Amanita pantherina.
