Article Review on the Prevalence of Episodic Homelessness among Child Bearing Women

Webb, D. A., Culhane, J., Metraux, S., Robbins, J. M., & Culhane, D. (2003). Prevalence of episodic homelessness among adult childbearing women in Philadelphia, PA. American Journal of Public Health, 93(11), 1895-1896.

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The Focus of the Study

The study was carried out to gauge the prevalence of homelessness among childbearing women living in urban areas in the united states of America. Few studies have been carried out to assess the risks of having homelessness among pregnant and parenting women in the USA (Webb et al., 2003).

Methodology Used

The study used a qualitative research strategy using secondary resources. The prevalence of homelessness was assessed using secondary data from public shelter use and birth record data, which is regularly collected as a task of Philadelphia's centralized public shelter intake system (Webb et al., 2003). In the study, electronic shelter intake records relating to any official request for shelter from January 1st, 1990 to December 31st, 1998, were linked to electronic birth records of women above 18 years from 1993 to 1998 (Webb et al., 2003).

What Did The Authors Use To Collect Data?

For data collection, the study used secondary data from electronic publish shelter use records and birth records. Random sampling was also used in the study such that for women who delivered more than one infant, only one randomly selected delivery record was chosen as the index birth. Women who had requested for shelter 3 years preceding their index birth and 4years after their index birth were categorized under having a homeless period (Webb et al., 2003).

What Was Being Measured?

The study measured the prevalence of homelessness among pregnant women in a 7 year period ranging from 1993 to 1994 (Webb et al., 2003).

Gaps in the Study

The sample used to generate the data was small and limited in reference to the actual study

Findings

The prevalence rates varied dramatically by race or ethnicity, previous live births, and maternal education (Webb et al., 2003). The prevalence was higher for women with lower levels of education compared to those with higher education levels. The prevalence was also higher for African American women as per their education level. A significant finding was that Women, more so Hispanic and African American, face the risks of homelessness during their reproductive years. The risks are also associated with the number of children illustrating that childbearing responsibilities make a number of women vulnerable to episodic homelessness (Webb et al., 2003).

References

Webb, D. A., Culhane, J., Metraux, S., Robbins, J. M., & Culhane, D. (2003). Prevalence of episodic homelessness among adult childbearing women in Philadelphia, PA. American Journal of Public Health, 93(11), 1895-1896.