Illnesses of lodging house inmates: A clinical study of a medico-social problem

Gaskell, Peter G (1967) Illnesses of lodging house inmates: A clinical study of a medico-social problem. MD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This study describes the medical and social characteristics of 450 patients from lodging-houses who attended one of the practices of the Department of General Practice of the Faculty of Medicine in the University of Edinburgh between 1st February, 1964 and 31st January, 1965. These patients, largely without skills, financial resources and supporting relationships were found to have patterns of illness different from those of normal general practice, 55% suffered from some form of chronic handicapping disease, of which mental illness and chronic bronchitis were most common. A comparison with normal general practice patients revealed differences in the patterns of surgery consultations, domiciliary visits and hospital referrals, particularly concerning mental illness, chronic respiratory disease and musculoskeletal disorder. The nature of their illnesses and the patterns shown are principal reasons for the inadequacy of medical care in this vulnerable population when it is undertaken in normal general practice conditions. Proposals are made for the establishment of special general practitioner appointments to ameliorate the present neglect, and the administrative and clinical factors which would require attention are considered. The role of the research worker and the difficulty of research caused by the constantly changing environment in general practice are discussed and the limitations and opportunities Indicated.

• Item Type: Thesis (MD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Additional Information: Adviser: Richard Scott
• Keywords: Public health
• Date of Award: 1967
• Depositing User: Enlighten Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:1967-73636
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 14 Jun 2019 08:56
• Last Modified: 14 Jun 2019 08:56
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/73636