Negative Effects of Home Foreclosures on Mental and Physical Health Risks

Abstract

The rising rate of home foreclosures which stands at approximately 1 in 92 households in the United States has raised a national alarm. Medical issues account for approximately half of all home foreclosure filings and it appears that approximately 1.5 million American homeowners could lose their homes to foreclosure every year. The phenomenological method was applied to explore the problems through the participant's lived experience. Four core themes were revealed: foreclosure process resulting in hospitalization of family and foreclosure associated with the lack of family's health insurance, family health and the foreclosure process, and foreclosure and the negligence of doctor's prescription, foreclosure as perceived loss of money and finally homeownership, displacement and housing instability as a reason for depression. The study provides a framework for local practitioners and decision makers in identifying the consequences on the physical and mental health of the participants and their families and providing a workable foreclosure response system.