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Pilots project implementation has started

In Hungary, the SOLACE-CEE project firstly will focus on the oral health screening of homeless people, as the number of head and neck cancers is extremely high, which is caused by poor oral hygiene, smoking and alcohol consumption. Patients often seek medical attention too late. The joint screening program of the Malteser Charity Service and Semmelweis University is trying to prevent this process.

Homeless people are reluctant to seek medical attention due to their previous bad experiences and prejudices against them, so oral screening starts at the Health Center of the Malteser Charity Service for clients, instead of a dental office. The nurses and social workers of the institution are well known and trusted by the homeless people.

In the first step they ask the participants in the screening about their complaints, then they take photos of every corner of the patient’s oral cavity using a DSLR camera, a circular flash and special mirrors and probes. The assistants then upload the images to the cloud, and a dentist – perhaps in another part of the country – examines them thoroughly within a day or two.

“The success of homeless healthcare is greatly increased if we bring the social and health care systems closer together, and specialists from both fields can work directly together for the benefit of each patient,” said Dr. Sándor Békási, head of the Health Center of the Hungarian Malteser Charity Service and the Docoom health research program. “The oral cavity screening will initially be launched at our homeless care center, but it will later be available at other homeless shelters in the capital and in the countryside, and our long-term goals include reaching people living on the streets with health screening buses. In a later phase of the SOLACE-CEE project, we also plan to launch online dermatology and telemedical psychiatric appointments for people experiencing homelessness.”