Author:

• Hellen Cristina Sthal - Sthal, H.C. - Botucatu, São Paulo - Universidade Estadual Paulista - <hellen_sthal@hotmail.com>

Thematic Area:

Não Categorizado

Abstract:

In the areas surrounding a university hospital in inner São Paulo state there are people sleeping, eating or resting on the lawns and their adjacencies, and they remain on such sites for hours. This study aimed at identifying and characterizing vulnerable individuals in the external area to that hospital by offering help. Data were collected from November 2007 to October 2008, on a weekly basis and at randomly selected days and times. The people remaining in these places were identified, and 52 subjects were interviewed. The individuals were, predominantly, females (67.3%), whites (51.9%), married (59.6%), had attended school for up to four years (44.2%) and did not have a defined profession (84.6%). Most of them were waiting for the bus transportation provided by their hometowns' administration; the mean waiting time was of approximately 90 minutes and most of the subjects showed certain needs during the waiting periods. Help was offered to 15 individuals who reported specific needs at the moment of the interview. It was concluded that these individuals were in a situation of individual, social and programmatic vulnerability, with distinction to socio-economic vulnerability. They showed reduced self-determination capacity and submitted themselves to unfavorable conditions as they depended on public services.
Key words: Nursing; Vulnerability; Welcoming.

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