NET MOST: Developing a Trauma-Informed Intervention for PTSD for Vulnerably Housed Populations
Status: Ongoing
Project Lead: Dr. Simon Hatcher (PI)
Main Research Contact: Nicole Edgar
Funded By: Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR)
Individuals who are precariously housed or currently experiencing homelessness have complex needs that traditional mental health care is poorly equipped to serve. There is a clear gap in the delivery of services that address the experience of trauma in vulnerably housed individuals. There are rarely any services for the effects of psychological trauma in publicly funded hospitals and those that do exist are often inaccessible to vulnerably housed populations. Barriers include costs of transport to attend treatment, previous bad experiences in hospitals, substance abuse, brain injury which can make planning difficult and the persistent chaos of living on or near the streets.
To address this, we are using the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST) to develop a trauma-informed care intervention specific to vulnerably housed patients. As part of the preparation phase of this strategy, this project aims to:
Conduct a systematic review to answer the questions “What is the evidence on interventions to treat PTSD among vulnerably housed populations?” and “What is the evidence on trauma-informed care interventions among vulnerably housed populations?”
Host a public consultation with both vulnerably housed patients, service providers and researchers to determine what it means to successfully do trauma-informed mental health care with those who are precariously housed.