Principal Organization: St. Michael’s Hospital Young Parents No Fixed Address Work Group
Authors: Catherine Moravac, BSc, Merry Little, RN, MSc, ACNP, Alice Gorman, BScN, Rosanne Nisenbaum, BA, MA, PhD, Darlene Dzendoletas, BSW, MSW, Rebecca Fortin, BA, MHSC
Participants: Underhoused, homeless or street-involved pregnant women under age 27 who received pre-natal care at St. Michael’s Hospital (in downtown Toronto) between July 2005 and October 2007
Research Methods: Quantitative, Qualitative (One-to-one interviews, focus groups)
Key Messages
- Establish hospital/community multi-disciplinary models of practice across Ontario to provide prenatal, postnatal and well-baby support specifically for homeless and low-income women within hospitals and on an outreach basis at shelters and community-based agencies/clinics.
- Provide stable funding for nurse practitioners, street outreach nurses and social workers at hospitals and health units to coordinate collaborative models of care in geographic areas where rates of poverty and homelessness are high.