A program of research and testing of Covid-19 with no fixed address has been put in place in Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), reports France 3 PACA. Under the code name COVIDep Homeless, the initiative was launched by the assistance publique in partnership with Doctors of the world and the coordination ASSAb*, says the journal The Marseillaise.
The screenings began Friday, June 5 in the mediterranean city, which has about 2,000 HOMELESS. They are conducted by the University Hospitals of Marseille (AP-HM), Doctors of the World and the coordination ASSAb (access to care and continuity of care for people without home). The involved teams are composed of nurses, educators, social workers, and social workers.
#COVID19 : systematic detection for the homeless people.
To measure the impact of the #COVID19 on these vulnerable populations, @aphm_actu, @MdM_France and coordination Assab launch a research project : COVIDep Homeless
https://t. co/f62M68JMLepic.twitter.com/5qNQWxIIzi
— AP-HM University Hospital, Marseille (@aphm_actu) June 12, 2020
The participants of this program of care will be monitored over a period of three months, said on its website the radio Maritima.
A unique initiative
The impact of the Covid-19 on the populations of homeless people is for now unknown, a lack of statistical data. The program COVIDep Homeless for the purpose of strengthening the knowledge on this subject, using a systematic screening, explains the regional channel of tv.
Two tests are conducted simultaneously on the premises : the serological test (Trod) and the test virological (PCR). The first one allows you to know in ten minutes if the person has been in contact with the virus. The results of the PCR test are also analyzed and obtained on the spot in 20 minutes. This allows you to take in charge the sick more quickly and identify a potential focus of contamination. Obtaining results on the spot, moreover, is a novelty.
Improve the continuum of care homeless
The program COVIDep Homeless 18 local structures, which are already working with the homeless in marseille. This population which lives in conditions of great insecurity, is highly vulnerable to the Covid-19. The program aims to analyze the consequences of the virus on this population. But also to “improve the pathways of care for those who have, and create for those who do not have,”explain France 3 Marine Mosnier, Médecins du monde, coordinator of field teams.
The homeless “are more likely to make complications “, note Emilie Mosnier, infectiologist at the AP-HM, and researcher in epidemiology and public health within the Sesstim (economic and social Sciences of health and medical information processing). “ There are co-morbidities that add up to a delay of support. They will be more likely to be hospitalized, to severe forms “says she from France 3. The first results of the study are expected by the end of the summer.
(*) Access to care and continuity of care for people without home (N.D.L.R.)
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