Nursing student and faculty attitudes toward people who are homeless

Objective: To explore the: attitudes of nursing students and faculty toward people who are homeless. Methods: Data were collected from a convenience sample of 377 students and 45 faculty using attitude and knowledge scales. Results: Attitudes ranged from neutral to positive. Frequency of contact with people who were homeless and knowledge about homelessness were inversely related to attitude scores, but having helped a person who was homeless was positively related to attitude. Conclusion: More than superficial contact with people who are homeless is needed so that individuality is emphasized and more effective professional health care can be given.