Self-Management Using Text Messaging in a Homeless Population

Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program (BHCHP) is the study site for this research. It is the largest freestanding health care for the homeless program in the country - it provides primary care, behavioral health, oral health care and other wrap-around services to 12,500 homeless individuals a year. BHCHP was recently awarded a two-year grant from the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission to demonstrate how intensive, coordinated case management can reduce costs of caring for homeless persons who are high utilizers of emergency department (ED) and inpatient care. The Social Determinants of Health Coordinated Care Hub for Homeless Adults project (hereafter the "Care Hub") will create capacity among 9 Boston organizations serving homeless residents to meet their needs in primary care, behavioral health, housing, and shelter. This will improve quality of life, health outcomes, and care efficiency for the organizations. The participating organizations, in addition to BHCHP, are Bay Cove Human Services, Boston Public Health Commission, Boston Rescue Mission, Casa Esperanza, Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance, The New England Center and Home for Veterans, St. Francis House, Victory Programs Specifically the investigators anticipate that patients participating in the Care Hub will have reduced use of ED and inpatient care because they will be better linked to and retained in appropriate care such as outpatient, mental health, substance use disorder (SUD), preventive care, and respite care. Regular care will increase the appropriate management of chronic health conditions and reduce episodes of exacerbations of these conditions which often lead to ED and hospital care. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether an a text messaging system of appointment reminders, along with medication taking messages, and text messages about mood will augment the effectiveness of the Care Hub program.

The investigators propose to pilot a cell phone-based outpatient care support and medication reminder system. The content will include appointment reminders and educational and motivational messages about the importance of going to all outpatient care visits and of taking medications. The investigators take a community-based participatory research approach to this study - both because it appropriately considers the needs of the target population (increasing the likelihood of success) and because it empowers a population that is often treated as if its members were powerless. The cell phone texting intervention will help patients stay engaged in care, adhere to their medications, and adopt and sustain behavior change. This will be accomplished by completing a series of objectives:

1. To develop a text messaging system designed for homeless patients which includes appointment reminders, medication taking reminders and motivation, and texts messages that allow participants to report their mood, all in support of chronic disease management. The system will be based on a health coaching model, and message content will be reviewed and edited by patients who are members of drafted by patient members of a BHCHP Community Innovation Panel (CIP).
2. To train Care Hub intervention patients (or refresh existing skills) in cell phone text messaging.
3. To test the text messaging system in a randomized pilot study with 60 patients, comparing outpatient, respite care, ED, and inpatient utilization, and Health-Related Quality of Care (HRQOL) between the 30 intervention and 30 control patients.