Skin care kits for people unhoused: Pilot study and dermatological care needs assessment

Summary: Over the past few years, the Dermatology Interest Group (DIG) at Yale School of Medicine has been assembling and donating skin care kits to support people who are unhoused in the New Haven community. In this pilot program, we surveyed kit recipients (n = 63) to assess the most needed skin care products, as well as dermatological care needs and barriers. The most helpful product in our kit was dry skin cream (74%). Participants also frequently reported the need for deodorant (67%), oral care products (61%), clean underwear and socks (75%), and athlete’s foot cream (48%). Additionally, we found that 38% of participants have ever needed but were unable to have a skin condition evaluated. Among these participants, the top barriers to accessing dermatological care were lack of transportation (71%), lack of information on where to go or who to contact (63%), and concern that they may not be treated with respect by healthcare providers (50%). These results show that a significant proportion of people who are unhoused require dermatological care, which may be overlooked in this population. This study highlights the importance of expanding access to dermatological care and skin care products to people who are unhoused. Joyce Quon¹, Michael R. Nock¹, Rhys Richmond¹, Sarika Ramachandran¹ 1. Dermatology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States. Minoritized Populations and Health Disparities Research