Transitioning Youth Out of Homelessness 2.5 (TYOH 2.5)

Not Applicable

Completed

Conditions: Youth
Homelessness

Registration Number: NCT06425458

Lead Sponsor: Unity Health Toronto

Brief Summary: The idea for this study came from the research team's current study called Transitioning Youth Out of Homelessness (TYOH) 2.0, which provides coaching and a leadership guide to youth transitioning out of homelessness. Based on feedback from youth and coaches involved in that study, the research team plans to make small changes to the leadership guide and see if it works better as an in-person, four-week leadership program.

All participants in this study will be invited to attend an in-person, four-week leadership program. There will be two programs running at the same time: one in St. Catharines and one in Toronto. The goal is to have 15 participants in each program.

The main purpose of the study is to learn what participants think of the program. The second purpose is to see if there are changes in identity capital (feeling a sense of purpose and confidence in achieving goals) and knowledge about things that are covered in the program, when the research team compares participants' answers at the beginning and at the end of the program.

Detailed Description: This project builds on the research team's current community-based randomized clinical trial (Transitioning Youth Out of Homelessness 2.0) utilizing coaching and a co-designed leadership guide to target identity capital (purpose, control, self-efficacy, and self-esteem) for youth transitioning out of homelessness (all participants are also receiving rent subsidies). Based on preliminary feedback from study youth and coaches involved in the intervention arm, the research team will modify the leadership guide and pilot it in the form of an in-person, four-week leadership program (vs. independent learning in the current study).

The overarching objective of this mixed methods pilot project is to co-develop and test a strengths-based leadership program targeting identity capital for youth (16-24 years of age) transitioning out of homelessness. Specifically, the objectives are to:

1. Modify the leadership guide being used in the research team's current study so it can be delivered as an in-person leadership program.

2. Co-develop and pilot a four-week, strengths-based leadership program for young people transitioning out of homelessness.

3. Determine the feasibility and acceptability of the leadership guide when delivered as a four-week, in-person program (as opposed to independent learning in the current study).

4. Examine whether self-reported measures of identity capital and knowledge of program material show improvement immediately post-program compared to baseline.

5. Explore whether there are differences in outcomes by sub-groups (e.g., gender, age, identification as 2SLGBTQ+, child welfare involvement) and/or program participation levels.

If this modified delivery of the leadership guide shows promise, the research team plans to incorporate it into a national scale-up alongside rent subsidies and coaching.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 30

Inclusion Criteria

Be able to provide free and informed consent.
Be able to understand English (leadership program and data collection will be conducted in English).
Have experienced homelessness (e.g., unstable housing arrangements including shelter stays, foster care, and couch surfing) for 3 consecutive months in the past 12 months.
Be able to consistently attend the four-week leadership program.

Exclusion Criteria

Enrolled in a program or study with similar features to the TYOH 2.5 leadership program.

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Intervention Feasibility and Acceptability (Assessed by Recruitment/Enrolment/Completion Metrics)	Assessed at T0 (pre-intervention), T1 (first day of intervention) and T2 (last day of intervention).	Quantitative measures consisting of recruitment/enrolment/completion metrics will be utilized. The recruitment rate will be estimated as the proportion of contacted individuals who express interest in participating in the study (T0). The enrolment rate will be calculated as the proportion of recruited individuals who are eligible and consent to participate in the study (T0). Participants were considered to have completed the study if they attended the final program session and completed final data collection (T2).
Intervention Feasibility and Acceptability (Assessed by Program Attendance)	Assessed at T2 (last day of intervention).	Program attendance was calculated as the percentage of total possible leadership program sessions attended (maximum 8 sessions).
Intervention Feasibility and Acceptability (Assessed by Program Feedback Questionnaire)	Assessed at T2 (last day of intervention).	This 4-item anonymous questionnaire was developed for this study to collect information about participants' view of the leadership program, the impact of the program on them, and their view of the individuals running the program.
Intervention Feasibility and Acceptability (Informed by Focus Groups)	Assessed at T2 (last day of intervention).	Focus group discussions (at T2) with program participants primarily centered around intervention acceptability but also explored the impact of the intervention on identity capital (e.g., sense of purpose and control) and socioeconomic inclusion (e.g., connection to broader social networks). Qualitative data analysis was conducted using reflexive thematic analysis with a critical social theoretical lens. During analysis, focus group transcripts were coded and codes were organized in a code book, clustered into categories, and eventually synthesized into key themes and sub-themes.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Pre-post Intervention Change in Identity Capital (Assessed by Multi-Measure Agentic Personality Scale)	Assessed at T1 (first day of intervention) and T2 (last day of intervention).	The Multi-Measure Agentic Personality Scale (MAPS20) is a 20-item validated self-report measure that explores domains related to identity capital. The MAPS20 contains the following sub-scales: Self-Esteem; Purpose in Life; Internal Locus of Control; Self-Efficacy/Ego Strength. Each subscale has a score range of 5-30, with higher scores indicating greater identity capital.
Pre-post Intervention Change in Knowledge of Program Material	Assessed at T1 (first day of intervention) and T2 (last day of intervention).	The composite knowledge assessment scale is 16-item self-report measure that was developed for this study and explores concepts from the program curriculum, such as: mindfulness; core values; purpose; goal setting; growth mindset; identity; and courage. Reported values represent the percentage of participants who answered the question correctly (i.e., agreeing with a correct statement or disagreeing with an incorrect statement).