Promoting Housing-Based Asset Building Programs in Healthcare

Area of Science:

• Health economics
• Social determinants of health
• Program implementation science

Background:

• Asset-building programs are underutilized for low-income families.
• Medical Financial Partnerships offer a novel approach to increase program uptake.
• The Family Self Sufficiency (FSS) program has a low national enrollment rate of 3%.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the reach and adoption of the FSS program when integrated into a healthcare setting.
• To compare two distinct outreach models for program enrollment.
• To identify barriers and facilitators to program adoption within a clinical population.

Main Methods:

• Two pilot programs were implemented: one with known providers and another with unknown hospital staff.
• Eligibility, interest, and enrollment rates were tracked for both pilots.
• The Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework and qualitative staff feedback were used for evaluation.

Main Results:

• Pilot 1 (known provider) enrolled 18% of 17 participants, while Pilot 2 (unknown staff) enrolled 1% of 69 participants.
• Key adoption factors included prior relationships and program understanding.
• Bandwidth for paperwork, staff capacity, and outreach timing limited adoption.

Conclusions:

• Healthcare partnerships can potentially increase the reach and adoption of asset-building programs.
• Successful implementation hinges on optimizing outreach timelines, leveraging established relationships, and considering family capacity.
• Further systematic trials are necessary to refine implementation strategies and confirm outcomes.