The Financial Navigator Program

The Financial Navigator Program - Optimizing Early Child Development by Facilitating Access to Financial Resources in the Neonatal Neurodevelopmental Follow-up Program

Over one third of caregivers with a child admitted to the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) reported having difficulty making ends meet. The SickKids Medical-Financial Partnership (MFP) working group conducted in-depth interviews exploring financial needs and supports with selected caregivers in the Neonatal Neurodevelopmental Follow-up Program (NNFU). Results identified financial stress (including difficulties with employment, high cost of living, poverty, food insecurity, inaccessible supports, benefit time lines, costs of therapy) as a major theme. Caregivers generally supported the idea of hospital-based financial services. In this feasibility study we will trial a Financial Navigator Program in the NNFU.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Financial Hardship
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Financial Navigator

Detailed Description

The objective of the current proposal will be to evaluate the feasibility of the Financial Navigator Program in the NNFU.

Research question: What is the feasibility of a Financial Navigator Program in the NNFU?

Setting: The NNFU program follows infants who had a Neonatal Intensive Care admission. Follow-up appointments are scheduled for when the infant is 4, 8, 12, 18 and 36 months of age. We will invite all families at their first appointment in the NNFU to participate in our study.

Study Procedure: Caregivers will be informed about the study at their child's first NNFU visit at 4 months. The clinical team will introduce the study and if interested, they will be approached by a Research Assistant (RA) to provide more details of the study. This can be in person at the clinic visit or in a follow-up phone call depended on families preference. If the caregiver provides consent, an appointment with the Financial Navigator will be arranged.

Intervention: "Access to a Financial Navigator" We anticipate the Financial Navigator will meet at least 2 times and up to 2 additional visits, at a time convenient for the family. Examples of financial services that will likely be offered by the Financial Navigator are tax filing, applying for benefits and financial counseling. The program will be flexible and family centered. Families can choose if they would like to meet the Financial Navigator in person at the NNFU appointment, during another medical appointment, or at another time during a virtual visit. The Financial Navigator will be integrated into the existing SickKids Resource Navigation Service. At the 18-month NNFU visit the study will be completed.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 40
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Meta van den Heuvel, MD, PhD; Phone Number: 422814 +1416-813-7654; Email: mathilda.vandenheuvel@sickkids.ca

Study Locations

• Canada
  • Ontario
    • Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5G1X8
      • Hospital for Sick Children
      • Contact: Meta van den Heuvel, MD PhD; Phone Number: 422814 +1416-813-7654; Email: mathilda.vandenheuvel@sickkids.ca

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Caregivers with a child followed in the NNFU in SickKids will be invited to participate in our study.
• Caregiver needs to attend 4-month NNFU appointment.

Exclusion Criteria:

• There are no exclusion criteria.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Financial Navigator Intervention

Other: Financial Navigator; Intervention: "Access to a Financial Navigator" We anticipate the Financial Navigator will meet at least 2 times and up to 2 additional visits, at a time convenient for the family. Examples of financial services that will likely be offered by the Financial Navigator are tax filing, applying for benefits and financial counseling. The program will be flexible and family centered. Families can choose if they would like to meet the Financial Navigator in person at the NNFU appointment, during another medical appointment, or at another time during a virtual visit. The Financial Navigator will be integrated into the existing SickKids Resource Navigation Service. At the 18-month NNFU visit the study will be completed.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Feasibility; Measured with validated questionnaire including; Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM), Intervention Appropriateness Measure (IAM), and Feasibility of Intervention Measure (FIM).	Validated Questionnaires (Weiner et al, 2017)	14 months
Demand	Demand will be evaluated by calculating the percentage of families that provided consent and the number of appointments per family with the Financial Navigator.	14 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Parenting Stress Index (PSI-Short Form)	Validated Questionnaire	14 months
Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scales (DASS)	Validated Questionnaire	14 months
Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ)	ASQ 4 months and ASQ 18 month version	14 months
Economic outcomes	Standardized report: include tax filing, receipt of social assistance, Canada Tax Benefit and provincial tax benefit take up, parental leave benefits uptake, and reported uptake of other financial supports	14 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: The Hospital for Sick Children
• Collaborators: Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Children

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): September 1, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): January 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 19, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 26, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): July 3, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 3, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 26, 2024
• Last Verified: June 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Financial Services; Neonatal Neurodevelopment Follow-up Clinic
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Stress, Psychological; Financial Stress
• Other Study ID Numbers: 1000081699

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No