Housing Conditions: Evaluation, Advocacy and Research in Toronto Community Housing

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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This project will examine whether a health promotion campaign using community organizing and joint advocacy by a coalition of tenants, health providers, social service agencies and advocates can lead to improvements in building conditions and health in social housing.

Detailed Description
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This community based participatory research project will bring together patients of the St. Michael's Hospital Academic Family Health Team (FHT) who are tenants of Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) with health providers, legal service staff at the Health Justice Program, social service agencies and advocacy organizations to advocate to improve building conditions in three TCHC buildings. The researchers will evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of this health promotion campaign as well as changes in the state of housing and self rated physical and mental health of tenants.

Official Title
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Housing Conditions: Evaluation, Advocacy and Research in Toronto Community Housing

Conditions
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Housing

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Community Organizing


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: 18 years or older Living in one of the three TCHC buildings Exclusion Criteria: under 18 years old

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Other
Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Community Organizing<br>All tenants in three TCHC buildings will be invited to participate in a survey on their building conditions at baseline, 6 months and 12 months. Once baseline data collection is complete, there will be a community organizing campaign involving tenants to advocate for improved building conditions. | Behavioral: Community Organizing<br>* The intervention will be community organizing and will consist of engaging tenants, health providers, legal service staff, social service agencies and advocacy organizations (e.g. ACORN). Each building team will identify initial priorities and then invite all building members to discuss and to finalize, as well as a plan for change. Building teams will engage in advocacy to TCHC and its representatives, and other city departments as appropriate. Engaging in advocacy will consist of a wide range of activities but essentially means presenting evidence (e.g. personal experiences, data) to policymakers and decision makers to affect change.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Tenant engagement in intervention | Acceptability of the intervention, assessed through qualitative focus groups with participants. | 12 months | 
| Building conditions | Change in the state of housing evaluated by a questionnaire completed by tenants and official reports from the Toronto Community Housing Corporation. | 12 months | 
| Health (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) scale) | Change in self-rated physical and mental health, sense of security, social integration, evaluated by surveys of residents using PROMIS scale | 12 months | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Community organizing, Advocacy