Introduction

Homelessness continues to be a pervasive public health and social justice issue across the nation. Unfortunately, some of the greatest needs of those experiencing homelessness are not met through traditional resources and agencies, which tend to focus on immediate needs such as food and shelter. One pressing—and often unmet—need of people experiencing homelessness is transportation. Access to reliable transportation is crucial to individuals experiencing homelessness who must locate shelter, employment, and medical services for their survival, all while maintaining relationships with loved ones. The specific aim of this study is to determine the bicycle's impact on mobility, physical health, access to health care, social capital, self-esteem, and employment. We are interested in how the participants used the bicycle and how the bicycle may impact perceived physical, financial, and emotional independence as they may contribute to increased perceptions of self-esteem.

Methods

In order to explore these outcomes, in-depth, open-ended interviews were conducted with 16 men experiencing homelessness who graduated from the earn-a-bike program offered through a local homeless outreach agency. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using Dedoose software.

Results

Study findings suggest that men experiencing homelessness experience several positive impacts from owning a bicycle and value the independence they gained. Maintaining employment, strengthened social capital, improved health and access to health care services, and increased self-esteem emerged as important outcomes for men experiencing homelessness who are bike owners. For example, men reported being able to stop taking prescription medications and reduce illegal drug use because of their bike use. New unresolved challenges include bike theft, lack of secure parking, and storage.

Conclusions

This study provides insight into a cost-effective and sustainable intervention to improve transportation, employment opportunity, health, social capital, and self-esteem in men experiencing homelessness. Findings also highlight challenges to bicycle ownership, some that can be mitigated by providing bike locks.

中文翻译：

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在无家可归的人中对交通，健康和自尊进行自行车干预的观点

介绍

无家可归仍然是全国范围内普遍存在的公共卫生和社会正义问题。不幸的是，那些无家可归者的一些最大需求无法通过传统资源和机构来满足，传统资源和机构往往将重点放在眼前的需求上，例如食物和住房。交通是人们经历无家可归的一个迫切需要解决的问题，而这通常是未被满足的。对于那些无家可归的人来说，获得可靠的交通服务至关重要，他们必须找到住所，就业和医疗服务以求生存，同时还要保持与亲人的关系。这项研究的具体目的是确定自行车对机动性，身体健康，获得医疗保健，社会资本，自尊心和就业的影响。

方法

为了探究这些结果，对16名无家可归者进行了深入的开放式访谈，他们从当地无家可归者外展机构提供的“赚钱的自行车”计划中毕业。使用Dedoose软件记录，转录和分析访谈内容。

结果

研究发现表明，无家可归的人拥有自行车会产生一些积极影响，并珍视他们获得的独立性。对于骑自行车的无家可归的男性来说，保持就业，增强社会资本，改善健康状况和获得医疗保健服务以及提高自尊心已成为重要的成果。例如，男性报告说由于骑自行车而能够停止服用处方药并减少非法药物的使用。尚未解决的新挑战包括自行车盗窃，缺乏安全的停车位和存放空间。

结论

这项研究提供了一种具有成本效益且可持续的干预措施的见解，以改善无家可归者的交通，就业机会，健康，社会资本和自尊。调查结果还凸显了自行车所有权的挑战，可以通过提供自行车锁来缓解这些挑战。