DNP 815 DPI Project Milestone : Outline of 10 Strategic Points
| Ten Strategic Points | Comments or Feedback | |
| Broad Topic Area | The implementation of permanent supportive housing to reduce substance abuse disorders among homeless adult patients. | |
| Lit Review | (a) Background of the problem/gap and the need for the study based on citations from the literature;
i. Homelessness is a major public health problem that continually affects many individuals in high-income countries. According to Gutwinski et al. (2021), approximately two million individuals have been labeled homeless in high-income nations in the past decade. In the United States (U.S), the lifetime prevalence of homelessness is projected at 4.2%, with about 550,000 people lacking fixed, regular, and satisfactory residence on any given night. ii. Statistics from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) show that about 1.4 million people in the U.S stayed in homeless shelters at least once in 2017 (Peng et al., 2020). Point-in-time projections show that about 1/3 of homeless individuals were unsheltered in 2017. iii. Homeless persons are at higher risk of traumatic injuries, infections, and violence and are highly likely to develop multi-morbidities, disabilities, and premature death (Aubry et al., 2020). iv. Social support has been shown to help reduce substance abuse among homeless people.
(b) Theoretical foundations (models and theories to be the foundation for study); General strain theory (c) Review of literature topics with a key theme for each one; i. Social support: increased or improved social support is associated with decreased cases of substance abuse among the homeless. ii. Interventions: As it stands, there is no current single intervention that can effectively be used alone to improve the outcomes among homeless individuals. iii. Prevalence of mental disorders and substance abuse: The current evidence shows that homeless individuals are more likely to suffer from mental disorders such as depression and engage in substance abuse hence addiction. (d) Summary: While the impact of permanent supportive housing on other aspects has been studied, little has been done regarding the impact on substance abuse among homeless people. The implication is that more studies need to be done to study such impacts. |
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| Problem Statement | It is not known if the implementation of permanent supportive housing will impact substance abuse disorders among homeless adult patients. | |
| Research Questions | Is there a relationship between the implementation of permanent supportive housing and the rates of substance abuse disorders among homeless adult patients? | |
| Sample | Location: urban setting in Atlanta, GA.
Population: Homeless adults patients engaged in substance abuse |
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| Describe Phenomena (qualitative) or Define Variables/Hypotheses (quantitative) | The targeted variables include; incidences of substance abuse (dependent variable) and permanent supportive housing (independent variable).
H1: There is a significant relationship between the implementation of permanent supportive housing and the incidences of substance abuse among homeless adults. H0: There is no relationship between the implementation of permanent supportive housing and the incidences of substance abuse among the homeless adults |
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| Methodology & Design | This research will employ a quantitative research design. Since it is to explore the relationships, it will focus on correlation. | |
| Purpose Statement | The purpose of this quality improvement project is to determine if the implementation of permanent supportive housing would impact substance abuse disorders among homeless adult patients. The project will take place over 12 months in an urban setting in Atlanta, GA.
PSH increases a person’s ability to have a house. This credibly improves a number of conditions that negatively impact health, including exposure to harsh environmental conditions and substance abuse. |
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| Data Collection Approach | The data to be used in this study will be obtained from the Department of Housing and Urban Development Statistics. | |
| Data Analysis Approach | The sample characteristics and variables results will be described using descriptive statistics. An independent t-test will also be used to test the difference between those who will be offered the intervention and those who have not been offered. |
References
Aubry, T., Bloch, G., Brcic, V., Saad, A., Magwood, O., Abdalla, T., … & Pottie, K. (2020). Effectiveness of permanent supportive housing and income assistance interventions for homeless individuals in high-income countries: a systematic review. The Lancet Public Health, 5(6), e342-e360. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30055-4
Gutwinski, S., Schreiter, S., Deutscher, K., & Fazel, S. (2021). The prevalence of mental disorders among homeless people in high-income countries: An updated systematic review and meta-regression analysis. PLoS medicine, 18(8), e1003750.
Peng, Y., Hahn, R. A., Finnie, R., Cobb, J., Williams, S. P., Fielding, J. E., Johnson, R. L., Montgomery, A. E., Schwartz, A. F., Muntaner, C., Garrison, V. H., Jean-Francois, B., Truman, B. I., Fullilove, M. T., & Community Preventive Services Task Force (2020). Permanent Supportive Housing With Housing First to Reduce Homelessness and Promote Health Among Homeless Populations With Disability: A Community Guide Systematic Review. Journal of public health management and practice : JPHMP, 26(5), 404–411. https://doi.org/10.1097/PHH.0000000000001219
Tan, Z., Mun, E. Y., Nguyen, U. S. D., & Walters, S. T. (2021). Increases in social support co-occur with decreases in depressive symptoms and substance use problems among adults in permanent supportive housing: an 18-month longitudinal study. BMC psychology, 9(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-020-00507-0
Wickham, S. (2020). Effective interventions for homeless populations: the evidence remains unclear. The Lancet Public Health, 5(6), e304-e305. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30120-1