Housing First for older homeless adults with mental illness: a subgroup analysis of the At Home/Chez Soi randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Housing First significantly improved housing stability among older and younger homeless adults with mental illness, resulting in superior mental health and quality of life outcomes in older homeless adults compared with younger homeless adults at 24 months. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Mental health change in the transition to permanent supportive housing: The role of housing and social networks

“…Given that 95% of the sample was stably housed at the 12‐month follow‐up, this may suggest that housing itself is a facilitator of positive changes in mental health symptomatology for formerly homeless adults. These findings are consistent with a recent PSH evaluation study of Los Angeles‐based adults experiencing homelessness with complex medical and behavioral conditions (Hunter et al, ) and two studies of Canadian‐based PSH residents that found mental health improved in housing (Chung et al, ; Gadermann et al, ). Housing may be associated with mental health improvements by virtue of a number of mediating factors, including a sense of security and stability.…”

“…Angeles-based adults experiencing homelessness with complex medical and behavioral conditions (Hunter et al, 2017) and two studies of Canadian-based PSH residents that found mental health improved in housing (Chung et al, 2018;Gadermann et al, 2015). Housing may be associated with mental health improvements by virtue of a number of mediating factors, including a sense of security and stability.…”

“…Yet little attention has been given to whether housing facilitates improvements in mental health. While a recent report (Hunter, Harvey, Briscombe, & Cefalu, ) and two studies (Chung et al, ; Gadermann et al, ) identified improvements in PSH residents’ mental health symptoms over time a gap remains in understanding the role of housing in residents’ mental health change. Moreover, research that has examined constructs related to mental health among PSH residents, such as substance use (Rhoades et al, a) and quality of life (Henwood, Matejkowski, Stefancic, & Lukens, ), have indicated that social networks are associated with these outcomes, and, as in the case of quality of life, may facilitate positive change (Henwood et al, ).…”

Effects of Housing First approaches on health and well-being of adults who are homeless or at risk of homelessness: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

“…All four studies reported mental health outcomes; these were categorised as ‘self-rated mental health’ (n=3: At Home, Chicago Housing for Health Partnership (CHHP) and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA)) and ‘severity of mental health symptoms’ (n=3: At Home, Pathways Housing First (PHF) and HOPWA). Two studies provided data eligible for meta-analysis of self-rated mental health (At Home and CHHP)43 44; a very small improvement was seen in intervention groups compared with treatment as usual (SMD=0.07; 95% CI −0.19 to 0.33; p=0.60, I 2 =82%; figure 3A). Additionally, HOPWA reported no statistically significant difference between groups 45.…”

Understanding the functionality of housing-related support services through mapping methods and dialogue

“…Regarded by Canadian and U.S. federal governments as an evidence-based strategy to ending homelessness (Government of Canada, 2014; U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, 2015), Housing First has been found to increase housing stability and improve quality of life for program participants (Chung et al, 2018;Patterson et al, 2013). As a result, Housing First has become a primary initiative in Canada and the U.S. in the provision of permanent independent housing to individuals who are experiencing homelessness who have multiple barriers to housing, such as mental health problems and substance use disorders (Tsemberis & Eisenberg, 2000).…”