None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
The purpose of this study is to examine the feasibility and acceptability of an intervention that identifies the unmet social needs (e.g. housing and financial insecurity) of vulnerable caregivers and employs Health Navigators (HNs) to provide appropriate referrals to government and community resources and ongoing advocacy over a four-month follow-up period. HNs are non-medical workers who have experience with the community service sector who practice strengths-based approaches to understand participants' situations and be led by them in designing an action plan for their needs. We hypothesise that HNs may be able to engage participants with services and may be able to resolve some of their needs. Our primary outcome of interest is the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention for both participants and clinicians working in the Children's Ward. These will be assessed using mixed-methods methodology, i.e. focus groups with participants and clinicians, and objective feasibility criteria such as rate of intervention recruitment and retention.
Interventions
A screening and referral intervention for unmet social needs will be integrated into the Children's Ward, with the assistance of Health Navigators (HNs) to provide participants appropriate referrals to services and advocacy throughout the follow-up period. This screening and referral interventions comprise three phases: 1) identifying participants' unmet social needs (e.g. housing and financial instability, food insecurity, transportation) using a dedicated screening tool, and 2) an initial meet
A screening and referral intervention for unmet social needs will be integrated into the Children's Ward, with the assistance of Health Navigators (HNs) to provide participants appropriate referrals to services and advocacy throughout the follow-up period. This screening and referral interventions comprise three phases: 1) identifying participants' unmet social needs (e.g. housing and financial instability, food insecurity, transportation) using a dedicated screening tool, and 2) an initial meeting with the participant to understand their situation, help prioritise needs and develop an action plan for referrals, and 3) provide follow-up and ongoing support for participants to help them access resources. The HN-participant initial meeting will require approximately one hour and will take place either in the Ward or in the community. The total duration of the intervention is seven months, with a three month recruitment period and four months of follow-up, with a minimum of one HN-participant contact per month. During follow-up, HNs will provide participants support contacting relevant community organisations, assisting with paperwork and attending appointments to provide participants advocacy as required. From our experience in previous HN studies, we anticipate follow-up frequency and duration will vary with case complexity, ranging from quick 10 minute phone calls to over an hour supporting participants in the community while attending appointments. HNs will undertake four full days of face-to-face training prior to intervention commencement, and will be provided a minimum of one hour of supervision and debriefing by a qualified, senior Social Worker to assist with queries and ethical decision-making throughout the intervention period.
Sponsors
The Hospital Research Foundation
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 80 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Parent(s)/caregiver(s) of children (0 to <18 years) admitted to the Children’s Ward
Exclusion criteria
• Parent(s)/caregiver(s) of children readmitted to the Ward that have previously been recruited to the HN intervention • Parent(s)/caregiver(s) <18 years • Limited English proficiency • Families with current safety plans in place or actively involved with intensive family support services.
Outcome results
None listed