Homeless Population: Health and living areas.

Abstract

The homeless population has been growing in an advanced or progressive way, mainly in urban centers, becoming an important social and human phenomenon. Objective: to apprehend the perception and / or understanding of the homeless population about health in the experiential territory, located on the bus station in Brasília, DF and surroundings. Method: research - action - participant, which is based on the idea of ??a living and dialectical relationship between research and action through encounters with people who are in a homeless situation in the territory of the bus station. An accidental or convenience sample and a script with open questions were used: “What is health for you?” and "How do you take care of your health?".Results: 70 perceptions were collected, which were grouped into analytical categories related to the social determinants of health: work, income, housing, food, security and ways of caring for health. Final considerations: the homeless population has the representation of health as a social value of the citizen determined and conditioned by socioeconomic, environmental conditions, self-care, self-image and living. It is imperative that public policies are materialized in the territory of these people, seeking to guarantee the right to health and to live.

Descriptors: Homeless Population; health.