Grant: Fellowship - PA - Research & Knowledge Translation on Urban Housing and Health

People experiencing homelessness experience poor health and use hospitals more frequently than the general population. When discharged from hospitals, they struggle to access health services and social supports in the community that can help them recover. Without these supports, their health may continue to decline and they are often readmitted to the hospital. Many hospital-based interventions aimed at improving the health of homeless patients try to better connect them to resources in the community. Often, this is done through a case manager. While these interventions have been successful at improving patient outcomes, creating housing stability and reducing hospital readmissions, they have primarily been implemented in acute psychiatric hospitals or hospital wards. There are no published interventions in Canada that seek to improve care transitions for homeless patients who are discharged from general medicine units in hospitals. This qualitative study will evaluate if a unique intervention - The Navigator Program - can improve the health of homeless patients after they leave general medicine units. The intervention features a Homeless Outreach Counsellor within the hospital who works with homeless patients to meet their social (e.g. housing) and health needs in the community. This is a qualitative study within a randomized control trial. I will interview homeless patients who do and do not receive the intervention to examine if the Navigator program is able to improve their health after they leave the hospital. Homeless Outreach Counsellors and community service providers will also be interviewed to help understand the patient experiences. The findings from this study will help improve hospital care transitions for people experiencing homelessness. This approach is critical to improving healthcare services that reduce health inequities for homeless populations, and connect them to social supports, such as housing.