TY - JOUR
T1 - Critical time intervention for homeless people making the transition to community living
T2 - a randomized controlled trial
AU - de Vet, Renée
AU - Beijersbergen, Mariëlle D
AU - Jonker, Irene E
AU - Lako, Danielle A M
AU - van Hemert, Albert M
AU - Herman, Daniel B
AU - Wolf, Judith R L M
N1 - © 2017 The Authors. American Journal of Community Psychology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Community Research and Action.
PY - 2017/9/5
Y1 - 2017/9/5
N2 - To help create an evidence base in Europe for effective interventions that improve the well-being of homeless people, we tested whether critical time intervention (CTI), a time-limited intervention developed to support vulnerable people during times of transition, is effective outside the United States. For this multicenter, parallel-group randomized controlled trial, 183 adults who were moving from shelters in the Netherlands to supported or independent housing were allocated to CTI or care-as-usual. The primary outcome was number of days rehoused, which was assessed by interviewing participants four times during a 9-month follow-up. Outcomes were analyzed with three-level mixed-effects models. The primary outcome did not differ between groups. CTI had a significant effect on family support and, for people experiencing less social support, psychological distress. Groups did not differ significantly on social support, fulfillment of care needs, quality of life, self-esteem, excessive alcohol use, or cannabis use. Because few participants were homeless at 9 months, more research is needed to establish whether CTI can prevent long-term recurrent homelessness. Given recent emphasis on informal support in public services and positive effects of CTI on family support and psychological distress, CTI is a fitting intervention for Dutch shelter services.
AB - To help create an evidence base in Europe for effective interventions that improve the well-being of homeless people, we tested whether critical time intervention (CTI), a time-limited intervention developed to support vulnerable people during times of transition, is effective outside the United States. For this multicenter, parallel-group randomized controlled trial, 183 adults who were moving from shelters in the Netherlands to supported or independent housing were allocated to CTI or care-as-usual. The primary outcome was number of days rehoused, which was assessed by interviewing participants four times during a 9-month follow-up. Outcomes were analyzed with three-level mixed-effects models. The primary outcome did not differ between groups. CTI had a significant effect on family support and, for people experiencing less social support, psychological distress. Groups did not differ significantly on social support, fulfillment of care needs, quality of life, self-esteem, excessive alcohol use, or cannabis use. Because few participants were homeless at 9 months, more research is needed to establish whether CTI can prevent long-term recurrent homelessness. Given recent emphasis on informal support in public services and positive effects of CTI on family support and psychological distress, CTI is a fitting intervention for Dutch shelter services.
KW - Journal Article
U2 - 10.1002/ajcp.12150
DO - 10.1002/ajcp.12150
M3 - Article
C2 - 28872196
VL - 60
SP - 175
EP - 186
JO - American journal of community psychology
JF - American journal of community psychology
SN - 0091-0562
IS - 1-2
ER -