Using Peer Navigators to Address the Integrated Health Care Needs of Homeless African Americans With Serious Mental Illness

Abstract

Objective Impact of a peer navigator program (PNP) develop by a community based participatory research team was examined on African Americans with serious mental illness who were homeless. Methods Research participants were randomized to PNP or a treatment-as-usual control group for one year. Data on physical and mental health, recovery, and quality of life were collected at baseline, 4, 8 and 12 months. Results Findings from group by trial ANOVAs of omnibus measures of the four constructs showed significant impact over the one year for participants in PNP compared to control described by small to moderate effect sizes. These differences emerged even though both groups showed significant improvements in reduced homelessness and insurance coverage. Conclusions Implications for improving in-the-field health care for this population are discussed. Whether these results occurred because navigators were peers per se needs to be examined in future research.

The Impact of a Peer Navigator Program in Addressing the Health Needs of Latinos With Serious Mental Illness

“…Interaction effects (a nonsignificant trend for scheduled appointments and a significant change for achieved appointments) suggested that there was a steady increase in appointments for the PNP group compared with the control group. This change was similar to the findings of previous research on a PNP for African Americans with serious mental illness (15). Peer navigators seem to help people with serious mental illness better engage with varied health services.…”

“…This may have occurred because a similar increase in service engagement (scheduled and achieve appointments) was noticed at that time. This finding echoes the positive results of the earlier PNP study on African Americans with serious mental illness (15). Engaging Latinos with serious mental illness in existing health care services through peer navigators is an important aid in addressing health and recovery needs.…”

“…Results of a randomized clinical trial showed those receiving PNP were significantly more engaged in services than research participants who were randomly assigned to integrated care (14). In addition, the PNP group showed significant improvements in health, recovery, and quality of life compared with the control group (15).…”

Peer navigators to promote engagement of homeless African Americans with serious mental illness in primary care

“…Strategies for recruitment and group assignment, as well as specification of the PNP, were described elsewhere (Corrigan et al, 2016). Research participants were 39% female ( N =26) and 52.9 ± 8.0 years old on average.…”

Increasing Mental Health Engagement From Primary Care: The Potential Role of Family Navigation

“…72,86 In an RCT of African Americans with severe mental illness who were experiencing homelessness, participants receiving peer navigation demonstrated improvements in selfreported physical and mental health status and quality of life compared with participants receiving treatment as usual. 87 Additionally, a study in an adult mental health inpatient setting found that patients working with professional navigators showed significantly better clinical outcomes than those receiving treatment as usual, including greater improvement on measures of psychopathology and distress, less time spent in the ICU, and lower rates of readmission in the month after discharge. 88 In the study referenced above of children with emotional disturbances receiving special education services, children in families receiving peer navigation received fewer suspensions.…”