"We could be good partners if we work together": the perspectives of health and social service providers on the barriers to forming collaborative partnerships with social housing providers for older adults

The role of patient navigation in supporting low-income older adults in their housing needs during hospital to home transitions: A qualitative descriptive study from Ontario, Canada

Introduction

Housing is an important determinant of health. Little research has explored hospital and community agency staff perspectives on how to support the housing needs of low-income older adults. Therefore, this paper examines the challenges associated with supporting low-income seniors as they transition from hospital to home and explores what role, if any, patient navigation models of care could have in addressing housing needs.

Methods

A thematic secondary analysis that triangulated data from two qualitative studies was used. In total, interviews and/or focus groups with 109 hospital and community care workers were re-analyzed, applying a new interpretive lens to the data to reveal new insights. Data were collected in Ontario, Canada.

Results

Participants described how low-income older adults have increasing complex care needs that influence their housing, but housing supports are limited and difficult to navigate. Participants believed further support was needed and suggested that a housing-specific patient navigation model of care may be beneficial, but difficult to implement due to the limitations of existing services.

Discussion

Our findings provide a unique perspective on the challenges hospital and community staff face in caring for older adults with housing needs. Patient navigation with a focus on housing may support these older adults. Further work needs to be undertaken to better understand how to best implement sustainable housing patient navigation models of care.

Access to Community Support Services among Older Adults in Social Housing in Ontario

Community support services are an integral enabler of aging in place. In social housing, older adult tenants struggle to access these services because of the siloed nature of housing and health services. This study examined the provision of government-funded community support services to 83 seniors’ social housing buildings in Toronto, Ontario. Although there were 56 different agencies operating within the buildings, only about one third of older tenants were actually receiving services. There was a subset of services that were available in more than 80 per cent of the buildings, and the most widely accessed services were food supports, crisis intervention, transportation, caregiver support, and hearing/vision care. There were also many cases in which multiple agencies offered duplicative services within the same building, suggesting that there are opportunities for improving service coordination. Practice recommendations for increasing access to community support services among low-income older adults in social housing are provided.

The Effect of Risk Prevention Ability on Entrepreneurial Performance of Chinese College Students: Moderating Effect of Team Management Ability

Improving the performance and success rate of college students' new ventures has attracted increasing attention globally. In this study, a questionnaire survey was conducted among 1500 college students who were directly involved in entrepreneurial activities in 23 provinces in China. The study explores the effects of team management and risk prevention abilities on college students' entrepreneurial performance. The results show that risk prevention ability significantly increases university students' entrepreneurial performance (e.g., profit and loss status, capital flow, and staff flow). Team management ability enhances these entrepreneurial indicators to varying degrees, with a "threshold" effect of its impact on entrepreneurial performance. With a continued increase in team management ability, the effect of risk prevention ability on entrepreneurial performance becomes increasingly more significant. Specifically, when team management ability reaches a medium level and above, risk prevention ability significantly improves capital flow and staff stability; and when team management ability reaches a high level, risk prevention ability significantly improves enterprise profitability indicators.