View clinical trials related to Homelessness.
Filter by:The legal team in medical-legal partnerships works with healthcare providers to improve their clients' lives. It is unknown whether this approach is better than providing usual legal services, with no special emphasis on non-legal matters and no particular collaboration with healthcare providers. The investigators propose to randomly assign 300 Veterans with housing-related legal problems to either legal help from a medical-legal partnership or help from lawyers in the community. The investigators will follow the randomized Veterans in this study for one year to determine if there is a difference between the two groups of Veterans in their housing situations and their mental health. The investigators will also interview Veterans in both groups about their experience of the legal services they have received.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether Maintaining Independence and Sobriety through Systems Integration, Outreach and Networking - Criminal Justice version (MISSION-CJ) is effective for reducing criminal recidivism and improving other health-related outcomes (substance use, mental health, housing, employment, community integration) among justice-involved, homeless Veterans with a co-occurring substance use and mental health disorder.
The investigators will conduct a pragmatic clinical trial to test the effect of patient navigation on lung cancer screening (LCS) low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) completion among Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP) patients at increased risk for lung cancer. Patient navigation is a strategy for guiding individuals through complex health systems, and the investigators hypothesize that this may be a promising approach for helping homeless-experienced people overcome their unique barriers to obtaining LCS. The investigators will aim to recruit 300 people to participate in this research study; 100 will be randomly assigned to arm 1 (usual care) and 200 will be randomly assigned to arm 2 (patient navigation). Randomization of participants will be stratified by smoking status, housing status, clinical site, and whether they have previously discussed LCS with their primary care provider (PCP) to ensure balance between study groups on these variables. People assigned to the usual care arm will be referred back to their PCP for further management. People assigned to the patient navigation arm will be given the chance to work with a LCS navigator. The navigator will assist participants and their PCPs with all aspects of the LCS process in addition to offering brief tobacco counseling for current smokers. The primary aim of the trial is to determine-among homeless-experienced people who are eligible for LCS-the effect of patient navigation on 1) LCS LDCT completion at 6 months post-enrollment and 2) LCS LDCT completion at 6 months with diagnostic follow-up of abnormal results within 1 month of the recommended time frame. Study outcomes will be assessed by examining participant health records. Following the intervention, qualitative interviews will be conducted with 40 participants and 10 BHCHP PCPs to better understand how the LCS process unfolds in the setting of homelessness, the ways in which the navigator facilitated this process, and opportunities for improving the navigation intervention for future use.
People experiencing chronic homelessness comprise a small yet high-morbidity, high-cost subset of the larger homeless population and are disproportionately impacted by alcohol-related harm. Unfortunately, traditional abstinence-based treatment does not adequately reach or engage this population, and both firsthand (problems stemming from one's own alcohol use) and secondhand (problems stemming from others' alcohol use) alcohol-related harm persists even after housing attainment. There have therefore been calls for more flexible and client-centered approaches tailored to this population's needs. Housing First, which entails the provision of immediate, permanent, low-barrier, nonabstinence-based housing, is a response to this call. Research has shown that Housing First is associated with decreased alcohol use, alcohol-related harm, and publicly funded service utilization. Nonetheless, Housing First residents continue to experience both first- and secondhand alcohol-related harm. Thus, further community-based interventions are necessary. To this end, a pilot project was conducted in which researchers as well as Housing First residents, staff and management codeveloped, implemented, and initially evaluated the Life Enhancing Alcohol-management Program (LEAP). The LEAP entails low-barrier, community-level, house-wide resident programming-including leadership opportunities, activities, and pathways to recovery. At the 6-month follow up, LEAP participants reported significantly more engagement in meaningful activities than control participants (p < .001). Moreover, high levels of LEAP program engagement (>2 activities per month) predicted significant reductions in alcohol use and alcohol-related harm (ps < .01). To build on these promising findings, we propose a larger, cluster-randomized controlled trial of LEAP (N=160) as an innovative, community-based, and client-driven adjunct to Housing First. Analyses will test LEAP effectiveness in increasing engagement in meaningful activities, decreasing alcohol use, ameliorating both first- and secondhand alcohol-related harm, and improving quality of life. Engagement in meaningful activities will also be tested as a mediator of the LEAP effect on alcohol and quality-of-life outcomes. Finally, we will assess whether LEAP is associated with reduced costs stemming from participants' use of emergency health-care and criminal justice services.
Peer support workers with lived experience of homelessness will provide advocacy, supportive counselling, assistance with navigating the system, and role-modeling for people experiencing homelessness in emergency departments in the Niagara region of Ontario, Canada. Previous research has demonstrated that people experiencing homelessness experience barriers to care and poor health outcomes, including increased risk of dying, and are frequent users of the emergency department for physical and mental health needs. The benefits of peer support have been studied in hospital psychiatric units and with people experiencing homelessness, but no studies have yet explored the potential impact of peer support workers on homelessness in the emergency department. The investigators plan to do a 12-month randomized study of peer support workers compared to usual care in the emergency department, and evaluate outcomes such as physical health, mental health, addictions, and behaviours, as well as cost-effectiveness and changes in how people experiencing homelessness seek health care. The investigators hope that the findings of this study will provide additional knowledge and evidence for future efforts to improve care for people experiencing homelessness.
Understanding how to create successful pathways out of homelessness is crucial. Thirty young people (aged 18 - 26 years) who have transitioned out of homelessness within the past three years will be offered scholarships to participate in a six week intervention that focuses on building identity capital (sense of purpose and control, self-efficacy and self-esteem) and providing career direction. The intervention will be designed and carried out by dk Leadership - an established, highly successful leadership and counseling centre in Toronto with a track record of significantly improving the life trajectories of teens and adults. Importantly, study participants will be incorporated into the centre's current programming, meaning the intervention will be held at a location not associated with homelessness. Study participants will be collaboratively recruited by dk Leadership and Covenant House Toronto - Canada's largest agency for street-involved and homeless youth. This impact and process evaluation aims to address critical gaps in knowledge about transition-related supports by asking whether and how an identity capital intervention delivered outside the social service sector impacts the life-trajectories of formerly homeless young people. Particular attention will be paid to whether this intervention shows promise as an unconventional way to tackle poverty and improve social inclusion. It is hypothesize that, for the primary quantitative outcome measures of hope, community integration, social connectedness, and self-esteem: 1. Significant improvements in the mean scores of the intervention group compared to the delayed intervention comparison group immediately post-intervention will be observed. 2. Significant improvements in the mean scores of both groups (intervention and delayed intervention) immediately post-intervention will be observed. 3. These significant improvements will be sustained in both groups for at least three months post-intervention.
Homeless adults are 8 times as likely to be alcohol dependent compared with adults in the general population, yet few studies have examined the precipitants of alcohol use in this vulnerable population. Ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) that involve repeated assessment of thoughts/mood/behaviors (e.g., via smart phone) is currently the most accurate way to assess individuals in real-time in their natural environments. Advances in smartphone technology also allow for the collection of continuous geolocation and other passive sensing data. Thus, researchers can now link environmental risks and protective factors to outcomes, without reliance on subjective reporting alone. Building on prior work, this study will use a three-phase study to develop and test a "just in time" adaptive intervention to reduce alcohol use in homeless men and women. Phase I will use smartphones and passive sensing technologies to monitor geolocation, psychosocial variables (e.g., stress, affect, urge to drink), and alcohol use in a group of 80 homeless adults with an AUD who are receiving shelter-based treatment. Phase I will identify environmental (i.e., geolocation), cognitive, and behavioral antecedents of alcohol use over 4 weeks. Phase II will use this information to create a risk algorithm and tailored treatment messages that anticipate and intervene to prevent drinking. The resulting app will assess imminent risk of alcohol use after each EMA and will deliver relevant treatment messages that match a person's current risk factors. Phase III will test the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary efficacy of the app in a sample of 40 homeless adults with an AUD who receive the EMA plus treatment messages over 4 weeks. Drinking will be determined via self-report, supplemented by a transdermal alcohol sensor (i.e., SCRAM) worn by participants. This project will be the first to combine geolocation and psychosocial variables to identify real-time antecedents of drinking. If effective, this smartphone app could significantly improve treatment engagement, drinking outcomes, and quality of life among homeless adults with alcohol use disorders.
This project builds upon initial proof of concept work examining the optimal set of supports for youth who have recently exited homelessness - an intervention comprised of mental health and peer supports alongside transitional case management. This collaborative model will be tested as a proof-of-concept in Thunder Bay with Indigenous youth and a trial will be conducted in Toronto to optimize and determine the effectiveness of the existing model of support.
Veterans leaving incarceration and re-entering their communities (often described as "reentry" Veterans) face a number of challenges, including uncertainty about housing, vulnerability to substance use and relapse, on-going mental health concerns, and often multiple health conditions require timely continuity of care. The purpose of the project is to increase support for Veterans post-incarceration through the addition of trained peers with lived experience of being a Veteran and a history of incarceration. Emphasis will be on peers who will help link Veterans to Veterans Health Administration (VHA) services, including housing and healthcare. Peers will provide linkage with Health Care Reentry Veterans program specialists, transportation to appointments, and support in community reintegration. Peers will assist reentry veterans to make a successful transition and get and stay engaged in their care.
This study seeks to implement wrap around services for Veterans suffering from co-occurring mental illness and substance use and who are homeless. It will compare Implementation as Usual of MISSION to Facilitation Implementation of MISSION.