Implementation of a day center in a homelessness context in Québec: protocol for a developmental participative evaluation

Background: Following the public outing in February 2016 of a local community center condemning the degradation of the living conditions for people in homelessness situations in the downtown area of a medium-sized city in Québec, many actors gathered to report a priority need: to imagine and implement a physical space with services answering the needs of a specific clientele. The need was presented as a living space, a project for a day center in which it would be possible to address the community services, as well as the health and social services without the labels of one or the other affiliations. A Homelessness Work Group (HWG) was gathered and became responsible for the development, implementation and sustainability of the project. Methods: and analysis: The preferred evaluation approach is a developmental evaluation. It aims at supporting the development of complex interventions and allows to a fast transmission of feedback to the actors/partners concerned. A participative approach is use and involves the follow-up committee of the HWG. Data will be collected on a 2-year period with the help of three strategies:1) Documentary collection (grey and scientific literatures);2) Participant observations during activities held with the development and implementation managers of the day center project and non-participant observations during other activities held by other shareholders;3) Semi-structured interviews with various actors involved in or concerned by the day center project (N=20).Data will be continuously analyzed and the main observations regularly shared with the development and implementation managers of the day center. The use of various sources and data collection strategies will enable their triangulation. Ethics and dissemination: The protocol received the approbation from the ethics committee of the Integrated University Health and Social Services Centre from Estrie-Sherbrooke and University hospital center (CIUSSS de l’Estrie – CHUS) on April 4, 2017 (2017-657). The ethics approbation was preceded by an evaluation from the scientific committee of the University Institute on primary health care and social services (IUPLSSS) of the CIUSSS de l’Estrie – CHUS and the Vitae Foundation during funds attribution. Out of respect for all the people concerned by this evaluation, data collection and analysis originating from documentary collection, observations and individual interviews will be subjected to the following ethical rules. A special attention will be brought on the information transmitted to the participants so that they can freely and clearly participate, or not, to the process. The Ethics committee of the CIUSSS de l’Estrie – CHUS will be advised of any modification to the protocol or to the evaluation process. The HWG and its follow-up committee transmitted via oral approbation its participation confirmation to this evaluation on September 14, 2016. Strengths and limitations of this study · Developmental Evaluation· Intersectorial collaboration· Qualitative research· Participative research· Marginalized population