Ana Stefancic, PhD

Associate Research Scientist, Dep. of Psychiatry, Columbia Univ.

Ana Stefancic has over 15 years of experience researching the effectiveness of housing and support services for individuals who have experienced homelessness, psychiatric disabilities, substance abuse, and chronic medical conditions. Current projects include a randomized clinical trial examining the implementation and effectiveness of a healthy lifestyle intervention for supportive housing participants, as well as identifying the underlying mechanisms of peer-delivered services.

Dr. Stefancic has been a consultant, lead evaluator, and co-investigator on several federally funded research grants and brings expertise in quantitative and qualitative methods, mixed-methods implementation research, and fidelity development and assessment. She was the lead developer of the Housing First Fidelity Scale and co-developer of the Housing First Fidelity Self-Assessment survey, both of which have been used to evaluate housing programs in over 15 countries. With a strong emphasis on translating research knowledge to practice, Dr. Stefancic has also provided targeted technical assistance to over 50 programs to increase providers’ adoption of evidence-based, recovery-oriented, and person-driven practices. Additional projects include examining the integration of behavioral and physical healthcare, identifying the determinants of social inclusion, and exploring factors that influence Housing First program fidelity.