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Abstract

Many homeless patients rely heavily on emergency departments and face multiple barriers when seeking healthcare services and their attitude/comfort in doing so may be shaped in part by their previous encounters with healthcare providers6. In one Canadian study, 28% of physicians in the emergency room felt overwhelmed when caring for homeless patients and their negative attitudes toward this population increased over time. However, such trends are pervasive even in undergraduate medical education with multiple studies linking progression through the course of medical education with a rise in cynicism, decreased empathy and interest in caring for homeless patients. Professional socialization and clinical contact affect student attitude development around houseless patients; medical students with more experience with the homeless showed more positive attitudes and interest toward this population. Proposed educational strategies for maintaining empathy among medical students towards this vulnerable patient population have focused on modeling positive behaviors, guided clinical experiences, and curriculum development. In our study, we developed a mini-curriculum on homelessness for medical students and designed a survey to assess student attitude, awareness, and knowledge on homelessness before and after receiving the educational intervention in order to understand its utility.

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