Publications by authors named "Blanca Sckell"

Background Millions of Americans experience homelessness annually. Medical providers do not receive adequate training in primary care of the homeless.Methods Starting in 2012, a comprehensive curriculum was offered to medical students during their family medicine or ambulatory clerkship, covering clinical, social and advocacy, population-based, and policy aspects.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: We undertook a study to determine the rates, predictors, and barriers to blood pressure control among homeless and nonhomeless hypertensive adult patients from 10 New York City shelter-based clinics.

Methods: The study was a retrospective chart review of blood pressure measurements, sociodemographic characteristics, and factors associated with homelessness and hypertension extracted from the medical records of a random sample of hypertensive patients (N = 210) in 2014.

Results: Most patients were African American or Hispanic; 24.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction Homeless persons have minimal opportunities to complete recommended cancer screening. The rates and predictors of cervical cancer screening are understudied among homeless women in the US. Methods We enrolled 297 homeless women 21-65 years old residing in 6 major New York City shelters from 2012 to 2014.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) has not been studied among homeless women in the United States. We assessed knowledge and attitudes regarding HPV infection and the HPV vaccine among homeless women.

Methods: We enrolled 300 homeless women age 19 to 65 residing in multiple New York City shelters from 2012 to 2014.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Mobile health may be an effective means of providing access and education to the millions of homeless Americans. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 50 homeless people from different shelters in New York City to evaluate their perceptions, attitudes, and experiences regarding mobile health. Participants' average age was 51.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Millions of homeless Americans have lower cancer screening and higher cancer mortality rates. We explored perspectives and perceptions regarding cancer and cancer screening among homeless.

Methods: Using random and criteria sampling, we conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 50 homeless adults from New York City's (NYC) shelters and shelter-based clinics.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Millions of Americans experience homelessness annually. Data on breast cancer screening among homeless women is extremely limited.

Methods: We performed a retrospective study evaluating 100 female patients 50 to 74 years old with at least three visits to two major New York City shelter-based clinics between 2010 and 2012 to evaluate and compare rates and predictors of mammograms in homeless and low-income domicile patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: We determined colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates, predictors, and barriers in 2 major New York City shelter-based clinics.

Methods: We extracted screening rates, sociodemographic characteristics, and factors associated with homelessness from medical records of domiciled and homeless patients aged 50 years and older (n = 443) with at least 3 clinic visits between 2010 and 2012.

Results: The majority of patients were African American or Hispanic, 76% were male, and 60.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Half a million immigrants enter the United States annually. Clinical providers generally lack training in immigrant health.

Description: We developed a curriculum with didactic, clinical, and analytic components to advance residents' skills in immigrant and travel health.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Data on health status of immigrants and practice recommendations for providers are scarce. We evaluated 99 recent immigrants from developing nations in an immigrant clinic in New York City to assess epidemiology of diseases and to recommend potential screening. Providers received ongoing training.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF