Quality and Effectiveness of Supported Tenancies (QuEST)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Quality and Effectiveness of Supported Tenancies for people with mental health problems (QuEST): Workpackage 4
IRAS ID
172923
Contact name
Helen Killaspy
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 5 months, 24 days
Research summary
While supported accommodation services play a very important role in assisting people with complex mental health problems to live in the community, there has been very little research to investigate their effectiveness. This is due in part to the logistic difficulties in researching this area. Randomisation to different types of housing support may be resisted by clinicians who feel that service users require a staged process, moving from higher to lower supported settings as their skills and confidence increase, and by service users with clear preferences for particular services. It also seems that the availability of supported housing stock is more influential than clinical need in determining accommodation allocation. These clinical and housing constraints mean that we simply do not know whether or not individuals are following the most cost effective routes to independence. In short, we do not know whether more tailored support delivered to service users in their own homes through floating outreach is more acceptable, more individualised and more cost-effective than a standard level of support provided in staffed facilities.
This study aims to assess the feasibility of a randomised evaluation of two models of supported accommodation for people with mental health problems. We will assess the feasibility, sample size and outcomes for a large scale trial to compare the clinical and cost-effectiveness of two models of mental health supported accommodation that are commonly used across England; supported housing and floating outreach.
REC name
North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/NW/0252
Date of REC Opinion
7 Apr 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion