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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]