HousingHEARTHNCT04131101
Housing Conditions: Evaluation, Advocacy and Research in Toronto Community Housing
A study testing Community Organizing in people with Housing, run by Unity Health Toronto at 1 site in Canada.
Trial summary
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. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Housing
- What is being tested?
- Community Organizing
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 53 participants
- Where
- 1 siteCanada
- Study dates
- 22 Oct 2018to 3 Mar 2021
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- 18 years or older
- Living in one of the three TCHC buildings
Who cannot join
- under 18 years old
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
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.
Read the detailed description
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.
- Conditions
- Housing
- Being tested
- Community Organizing
- Keywords
- Community organizing, Advocacy
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Community OrganizingBehavioural
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.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Community Organizing | Experimental | 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. Receives: Behavioral: Community Organizing |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Tenant engagement in intervention
Acceptability and feasibility of the intervention, assessed through qualitative focus groups with participants in each intervention building. The HEARTH Survey was built by the research team (example question: How satisfied are you with the condition of your building?). All qualitative data will be managed and analyzed with the data management software, NVivo.
Measured: 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. The HEARTH survey consisted of various questions relating to this, leading to different answers due to different scales. For example, for safety of the building, the options were: very safe, fairly safe, neither safe nor unsafe, fairly unsafe, and very unsafe. All scales had 5 options/outcomes but different wordings. No quantitative score was used for this.
Measured: 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. This scale is validated. For pain, the minimum score is 0 and the maximum score is 10, with 10 representing the worst pain imaginable. The higher the number on the scale, the worse the outcome/issue is.
Measured: 12 months
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted18 Oct 2019
- Study start22 Oct 2018
- Primary completion2 Jul 2020
- Study completion3 Mar 2021
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for HousingStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Unity Health TorontoThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 53 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Unity Health Toronto
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Andrew Pinto, MSc MD, Principal investigator, Unity Health Toronto
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04131101
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- SMH-18-154
- Acronym
- HEARTH
- Status last verified
- Dec 2024
- First submitted
- 31 May 2019
- Last updated
- 6 Jan 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Undecided
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 6 Jan 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Housing Conditions: Evaluation, Advocacy and Research in Toronto Community Housing
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04131101
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- HEARTH / SMH-18-154
- Conditions
- Housing
- Keywords
- Community organizing, Advocacy
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 53 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Unity Health TorontoUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 22 Oct 2018 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 2 Jul 2020 (actual)
- Study completion
- 3 Mar 2021 (actual)
- First posted
- 18 Oct 2019 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
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
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.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 1
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Community Organizing | Experimental | Behavioral: Community OrganizingAll 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. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (2 listed)
- 18 years or older
- Living in one of the three TCHC buildings
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- under 18 years old
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Community OrganizingThe 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. | Behavioural | Community Organizing |
Primary outcome
Tenant engagement in intervention
Time frame: 12 months
Acceptability and feasibility of the intervention, assessed through qualitative focus groups with participants in each intervention building. The HEARTH Survey was built by the research team (example question: How satisfied are you with the condition of your building?). All qualitative data will be managed and analyzed with the data management software, NVivo.
Building conditions
Time frame: 12 months
Change in the state of housing evaluated by a questionnaire completed by tenants and official reports from the Toronto Community Housing Corporation. The HEARTH survey consisted of various questions relating to this, leading to different answers due to different scales. For example, for safety of the building, the options were: very safe, fairly safe, neither safe nor unsafe, fairly unsafe, and very unsafe. All scales had 5 options/outcomes but different wordings. No quantitative score was used for this.
Health (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) scale)
Time frame: 12 months
Change in self-rated physical and mental health, sense of security, social integration, evaluated by surveys of residents using PROMIS scale. This scale is validated. For pain, the minimum score is 0 and the maximum score is 10, with 10 representing the worst pain imaginable. The higher the number on the scale, the worse the outcome/issue is.
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 6 Jan 2025.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Undecided
Related trials for Housing
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Experimental Trial of an Employment-Based Housing Program for Adults at Risk of Homelessness
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Comprehensive Enhanced Care Management Under CalAIM for High-Risk Medi-Cal Members
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RecruitingObservational study
Transitional Housing and HIV Health
HIV, HIV Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) Adherence
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Andrew Pinto, MSc MD principal investigator
Unity Health Toronto
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Community Organizing in people with Housing, run by Unity Health Toronto at 1 site in Canada.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 6 Jan 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Canada. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Tenant engagement in intervention (time frame: 12 months). The study lists 3 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 6 Jan 2025; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 8 Nov 2026.