Navigator Program for Homeless Adults

Unity Health Toronto

Status: Enrolling

Conditions: Homeless Persons; Case Management; Hospital Readmission; Primary Care

Treatments: Other: Navigator Program

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04961762

21-058

Details and patient eligibility

About

Individuals experiencing homelessness often have complex health and social needs. This population also faces disproportionate systemic barriers to accessing health care services and social supports, such as not having primary care providers, needing to meet other competing priorities, and difficulties affording medications. These barriers contribute to discontinuities in care, poor health outcomes, and high acute healthcare utilization after hospitalization among this population. This randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effect of a case management intervention (the Navigator program) for individuals experiencing homelessness who have been admitted to hospital for medical conditions. This study will examine outcomes over a 180-day period after hospital discharge, including follow-up with primary care providers, acute healthcare utilization, quality of care transitions, and overall health.

Enrollment: 640 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• 18 years of age or older
• Have an unplanned admission for any medical cause to the General Internal Medicine service, any Medicine subspecialty service, the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, and the Medical Surgical Intensive Care Unit
• Identified as being homeless at the time of admission or anytime during the index hospital admission. This includes patients who are: unsheltered (absolutely homeless and living on the streets or in places not intended for human habitation), emergency sheltered (staying in overnight shelters for people who are homeless, as well as shelters for those impacted by family violence), or provisionally accommodated (whose accommodation is temporary or lacks security of tenure).

Exclusion criteria

• Unable to provide informed consent to the study
• Previously received services from the Homeless Outreach Counsellor within 90 days of admission

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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640 participants in 2 patient groups

Navigator Program

Experimental group

Description:

In addition to receiving Standard Care, participants in the intervention arm will be assigned to a Homeless Outreach Counsellor. The Homeless Outreach Counsellor will connect with the participant as soon as possible during the admission and will provide support during the hospital admission and for approximately 90 days after hospital discharge.

Treatment:

Other: Navigator Program

Standard Care

No Intervention group

Description:

Standard Care consists of support from Care Transition Facilitators who work with patients during their hospital stay to arrange discharge plans and make follow-up arrangements. Care Transition Facilitators do not routinely work with patients after hospital discharge. As part of the routine discharge process, the health care team provides patients with medical recommendations, appointments for follow-up care as needed, a written discharge summary, and prescriptions as needed. If the patient has an identified primary care provider, a copy of the discharge summary is sent electronically to the primary care provider.