addressInG iNcome securITy in Primary carE

Unity Health Toronto284 enrolled

Overview

Social processes that impact the health of individuals have been labeled the social determinants of health (SDOH). These are "the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. These circumstances are shaped by the distribution of money, power and resources at global, national and local levels". Perhaps the most important SDOH is income security, a person's actual, perceived and expected income. Our objective is to carry out a pragmatic randomized controlled trial that evaluates the impact of an income-focused health promoter.

This study aims to answer the question: What is the impact of an income security health promotion service based in a primary care setting on the income security of people living in poverty? We hypothesize that an income security health promotion service for adults living in poverty will increase monthly income relative to usual care. We will carry out a pragmatic randomized controlled trial that evaluates the impact of such a new service focused on income security health promotion. The St. Michael's Hospital Academic Family Health Team has received ongoing funding from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) to support this service. The primary outcome is income security, and secondary outcomes include quality of life, financial literacy and community integration. Population - Adults living in poverty Intervention - Income security health promotion Control - Usual care Outcome - Primary: Improvement in income per month in the intervention group at 6 months (post-intervention) compared to income in control group at 6 months (pre-intervention). Secondary: quality of life, self-rated health, community engagement.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

284

Conditions

Poverty Income Social Determinants of Health

Interventions

Income Security Health PromotionOTHER

The ISHP will work to improve the income security of participants within this study. To that end, her activities include: * Providing one-to-one case management support and ongoing follow-up to diverse low-income patients and families regarding their income security. * Developing and implementing targeted information self-help sessions, such as; banking basics, income tax submissions, and social service forms, for the target population * Developing and maintaining up-to-date detailed knowledge of financial issues and financial services affecting low-income people, and applying this knowledge in his/her work. * Assisting individual low-income patients with income security-focused interventions, including access to tax benefits, applications for income security programs such as social assistance and seniors and child benefits, and navigation of disability support programs.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Age ≥18 * Lives within the Metropolitan catchment areas * Lives in a postal code that is in the lowest income quintile, or has had a billing code specific to social assistance forms billed ever billed, or has been identified as low income based on reported family income and number of people supported by income on the "Health Equity Data" * Patient of the Family Health team including those that are: rostered, non-rostered, refugee claimants (IFH) or uninsured seen in the FHT. * Verified by the patient's family physician as living in poverty, a good candidate for the intervention, and the patient's family physician agrees to have a letter submitted with his/her name attached. Exclusion Criteria: * Patients who have previously worked with the Income Security Health Promoter, or are part of households of people who have previously worked with the Income Security Health Promoter. * Patients who have no available contact information for mailing. * Patients of any member of the investigative team.

Locations (1)

St. Michael's Hospital

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Change in monthly income from baseline to 6 months after intervention

Time frame: 6 months

Secondary Outcomes

quality of life: Change in scores on the WHO QoL-BREF and EQ-5D-5L

Change in scores on the WHO QoL-BREF and EQ-5D-5L

Time frame: 12 months

quality of life (overall health, mental health, physical health): change in units on a measured scale of EQ VAS

changes in units on a measured scale

Time frame: 12 months

community integration: Change in scores on the Community Integration Scale

Change in scores on the Community Integration Scale

Time frame: 12 months

financial literacy: Change in scores on the Canadian Centre for Financial Literacy Personal Financial Literacy Quiz

Change in scores on the Canadian Centre for Financial Literacy Personal Financial Literacy Quiz

Time frame: 12 months

co-morbidities and medication access

changes to scores relating to comorbidities and medication access

Time frame: 12 months

other social determinants

changes scores relating to housing and employment

Time frame: 12 months

food security

changes in scores on Health Canada food security module

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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