Background:Recovery education centers (RECs) offer recovery supports through education rather than traditional health services. The Supporting Transitions and Recovery Learning Centre (STAR) in Toronto, Canada, is among the few that are internationally focused on individuals with histories of homelessness. Although research suggests that RECs positively impact participants, there is a paucity of rigorous studies and none address the engagement and impacts on homeless individuals.Aims:This protocol describes a realist-informed evaluation of STAR, specifically examining (1) if STAR participation is more effective in promoting 12-month recovery outcomes than participation in usual services for individuals experiencing housing instability and mental health challenges and (2) how STAR participation promotes recovery and other positive outcomes.Methods:This study uses a quasi-experimental mixed methods design. Personal empowerment (primary outcome) and recovery, housing stability, social functioning, health service use and quality of life (secondary outcomes) data were collected at baseline, and 6 and 12 months. Intervention group participants were recruited at the time of STAR registration while control group participants were recruited from community agencies serving this population after screening for age and histories of housing instability. Interviews and focus groups with service users and providers will identify the key intervention ingredients that support the process of recovery.Results:From January 2017 to July 2018, 92 individuals were recruited to each of the intervention and control groups. The groups were mostly similar at baseline; the intervention group’s total empowerment score was slightly higher than the control group’s ( M ( SD): 2.94 (0.23) vs 2.84 (0.28), p = .02), and so was the level of education. A subset of STAR participants ( n = 20) and nine service providers participated in the qualitative interviews and focus groups.Conclusion:This study will offer important new insights into the effectiveness of RECs, and expose how key REC ingredients support the process of recovery for people experiencing housing instability.

Objective To systematically review the literature on the mental health of adolescents associated with sexual and reproductive outcomes, and compare the mental health outcomes with that of other age groups. Methods We searched seven databases for relevant peer-reviewed articles published between 1 January 2010 and 25 April 2019. Our inclusion criteria required that the study included age-disaggregated data on adolescents, and focused and assessed mental health outcomes associated with pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections. We extracted data on the specific health event, the mental health outcome and the method of measuring this, and comparisons with other age groups. Findings After initially screening 10 818 articles by title and abstract, we included 96 articles in our review. We observed that a wide-ranging prevalence of mental ill-health has been reported for adolescents. However, most studies of mental health during pregnancy did not identify an increased risk of depression or other mental disorders among adolescents compared with other age groups. In contrast, the majority of studies conducted during the postpartum period identified an increased risk of depression in adolescents compared with other age groups. Three studies reported on mental health outcomes following abortion, with varying results. We found no studies of the effect of sexually transmitted infections on mental health among adolescents. Conclusion We recommend that sexual and reproductive health services should be accessible to adolescents to address their needs and help to prevent any adverse mental health outcomes.