Clinicians' Perceptions of Screening for Food Insecurity in Suburban Pediatric Practice

Screening for Food Insecurity in a Pediatric Diabetes Program: Provider and Parent/Guardian Perspectives

Food insecurity (FI) is associated with poor health outcomes in children, and studies have shown higher FI among children with diabetes mellitus. This study assessed provider (N = 22, 35.5% response rate) and parent/guardian (N = 207, 14.6% response rate) perspectives toward FI screening in a pediatric diabetes program. Among 22 providers, most "rarely" (54.5%) or "never" (27.3%) screened for FI although all felt that screening was at least "slightly important." Barriers included lack of time (63.6%), not remembering to screen (59.1%), lack of knowledge about how to address positive screens (45.5%), and being unsure how to screen (40.9%). Among 186 parent/guardians, only 24.1% had been asked about FI at a pediatric medical appointment, but only 8.6% disliked the idea of being asked by a medical provider at endocrinology visits. To be effective and sustainable, FI screening must fit within the visit flow, and providers need education on how to address positive screens.

Opening Pandora's box - key facilitators of practice change in detecting and responding to childhood adversity - a practitioner perspective

BACKGROUND

Childhood adversities worsen physical and mental health across the lifespan. Health and social care practitioners play a key role in identifying and responding to childhood adversity, however, may be reluctant to do so due to a perceived lack of services to refer to, time pressures and a deficit of training and confidence. We aimed to (1) quantify changes in practitioner comfort and confidence to identify and respond to childhood adversity following a multimodal intervention within an integrated child and family health and social care hub and (2) to understand barriers and facilitators of practice change.

METHODS

Hub practitioners were surveyed about their competence and comfort to directly ask about and confidence to respond to adversity at baseline and then at six and twelve months post training. Interviews were undertaken to explore practitioner barriers and enablers of practice change. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. The theoretical domains framework was used to identify the key drivers of practice change.

RESULTS

Fifteen of 18 practitioners completed all three surveys and 70% reported increased competence and comfort to directly ask, and confidence to respond across a range of adversities over the 12-month intervention. Twenty-one practitioners completed interviews. Six themes were identified as either facilitators or barriers to practice change. Facilitator themes included (1) connection matters, (2) knowledge provides assurance, (3) confidence in ability and (4) choosing change. Barrier themes were (1) never enough time and (2) opening Pandora's box. Following analysis, key drivers of practice change were 'social influence', 'belief in capability', 'knowledge' and 'behaviour regulation' while barriers to practice change were 'environmental context and resources' and 'emotion'.

CONCLUSIONS

Practitioners reported improved confidence in identifying and responding to adversity through a multimodal intervention delivered in an integrated Child and Family Hub. Changing practice requires more than just education and training. Opportunities for social connection and coaching to improve self-confidence and perceived competence are needed to overcome the fear of opening Pandora's box.

Addressing food insecurity in HIV care: perspectives from healthcare and social service providers in New York state

Ending the HIV epidemic in the United States will require addressing social determinants contributing to poor care engagement among people living with HIV (PLH), such as food insecurity. Food insecurity is associated with poor care engagement among PLH. Yet, few studies have examined the perspectives of healthcare and social services providers on addressing food insecurity in HIV care. Guided by the Social Ecological Model, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 18 providers in New York State to understand barriers and facilitators to addressing food insecurity in HIV care. Thematic analysis illustrated eight themes across various levels of the Social Ecological Model. At the patient-level, providers perceived patients' feelings of embarrassment, shame, and judgement, and low health literacy as barriers. At the provider-level, challenges included limited time. Facilitators included fostering strong, patient-provider relationships. Barriers at the clinic-level included limited funding, while clinic resources served as facilitators. At the community-level, challenges included intersecting stigmas arising from community norms towards PLH and people who receive food assistance and limited access to healthy food. Findings suggest the need to incorporate their insights into the development of interventions that address food insecurity in HIV care.

Comparison of Caregiver and Provider Food Insecurity Screening Preferences Within a Health System

Food insecurity is a public health concern associated with poor health. Evidence guiding how to best implement screening for food insecurity across a pediatric health care system is lacking. We performed a single-center, multi-department, cross-sectional study of caregivers and health care providers in outpatient and inpatient settings to describe the beliefs, barriers, preferences, and preferred food insecurity screening location. Most providers and caregivers underestimated the pervasiveness of food insecurity while acknowledging the benefit of screening. Caregivers are overall receptive to food insecurity screening and disagree with feelings of discomfort or shame when disclosing food insecurity status. Providers acknowledged perceived caregiver discomfort, lack of community food resources, and lack of a validated screening tool as barriers to screening. Both caregivers and providers identified the primary care setting as the preferred screening setting.

Families Benefit After Utilization of a Clinic-Based Food Pantry Irrespective of Food Insecurity Experiences in a Pediatric Obesity Treatment Program

PURPOSE

To evaluate the congruence between food insecurity screening outcome and clinic-based food pantry utilization and to examine caregiver reported comfort, motivation, and benefits of utilization.

DESIGN

Mixed-methods study.

SETTING

Academic pediatric obesity treatment clinic.

SUBJECTS

Convenience sample of caregivers.

INTERVENTION

Clinic-based food pantry offered irrespective of food insecurity screening outcome.

MEASURES

Food insecurity screening (Hunger Vital Sign) and severity, self-rated caregiver health, willingness to disclose food insecurity and receive food, and food-related stress.

ANALYSIS

Chi-square and t-tests were utilized to examine associations and descriptive analysis explored benefits. Rapid qualitative analysis was utilized to identify themes.

RESULTS

Caregivers of 120 children were included (child mean age 11.8; 56.7% female, 67.6% Non-Hispanic Black), with 47 of 59 eligible completing follow-up surveys and 14 completing in-depth interviews. Approximately half (N = 30/59, 50.8%) of families utilizing the food pantry screened negative for food insecurity. Families utilizing the food pantry were more likely to report severe food insecurity (N = 23/59; 38.9%) compared to those declining (N = 3/61; 4.9%, P < .001). Caregivers accepting food were able to meet a child health goal (N = 30/47, 63.8%). Caregivers reported feeling comfortable receiving food (N = 13/14) and felt utilizing the food pantry led to consumption of healthier foods (N = 7/14).

CONCLUSIONS

Families who screened both positive and negative for food insecurity utilized and benefited from a clinic-based food pantry. Clinics should consider strategies offering food resources to all families irrespective of screening outcome.

Food Insecurity Screening in High-Income Countries, Tool Validity, and Implementation: A Scoping Review

Household food insecurity has significant negative implications across the lifespan. While routine screening is recommended, particularly in healthcare, guidelines are lacking on selection of screening tools and best-practice implementation across different contexts in non-stigmatizing ways. The objective of this scoping review was to synthesize evidence on household food insecurity screening tools, including psychometrics, implementation in a range of settings, and experiences of carrying out screening or being screened. Four electronic databases were searched for studies in English published from 1990 until June 2023. A total of 58 papers were included, 21 of which focused on tool development and validation, and 37 papers described implementation and perceptions of screening. Most papers were from the USA and described screening in healthcare settings. There was a lack of evidence regarding screening in settings utilized by Indigenous people. The two-item Hunger Vital Sign emerged as the most used and most valid tool across settings. While there is minimal discomfort associated with screening, screening rates in practice are still low. Barriers and facilitators of screening were identified at the setting, system, provider, and recipient level and were mapped onto the COM-B model of behavior change. This review identifies practical strategies to optimize screening and disclosure.

"I Felt Like I Had Something I Could Do About It": Pediatric Clinician Experiences With a Food Insecurity-Focused Produce Prescription Program

Efforts to address food insecurity (FI) in pediatric clinics have increased over the last decade, particularly after a groundbreaking 2015 American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement supporting universal routine screening and intervening. Produce prescription programs are a novel strategy addressing FI. Limited data exist on effectiveness and feasibility in pediatric clinical settings. This study explored clinician experiences after enrolling patients who completed a produce prescription program in an urban primary-care clinic in Washington, DC. One year after program completion, the experiences of 11 clinicians were explored through qualitative interviews and coded using thematic content analysis. Identified themes explored changes in clinician knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Clinicians expressed that the program offered a tangible resource to address FI, building trust and strengthening their sense of self-efficacy in addressing families' concerns. Incorporation of a produce prescription intervention to address FI was feasible and well accepted by pediatric primary-care clinicians.

Food Insecurity Screening in Primary Care: Patterns During the COVID-19 Pandemic by Encounter Modality

INTRODUCTION

Screening for food insecurity in clinical settings is recommended, but implementation varies widely. This study evaluated the prevalence of screening for food insecurity and other social risks in telehealth versus in-person encounters during the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in screening before versus after widespread COVID-19 vaccine availability.

METHODS

These cross-sectional analyses used electronic health record and ancillary clinic data from a national network of 400+ community health centers with a shared electronic health record. Food insecurity screening was characterized in 2022 in a sample of 275,465 first encounters for routine primary care at any network clinic during March 11, 2020-December 31, 2021. An adjusted multivariate multilevel probit model estimated screening prevalence on the basis of encounter mode (in-person versus telehealth) and time period (initial pandemic versus after vaccine availability) in a random subsample of 11,000 encounters.

RESULTS

Encounter mode was related to food insecurity screening (p<0.0001), with an estimated 9.2% screening rate during in-person encounters, compared with 5.1% at telehealth encounters. There was an interaction between time period and encounter mode (p<0.0001), with higher screening prevalence at in-person versus telehealth encounters after COVID-19 vaccines were available (11.7% vs 4.9%) than before vaccines were available (7.8% vs 5.2%).

CONCLUSIONS

Food insecurity screening in first primary care encounters is low overall, with lower rates during telehealth visits and the earlier phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Future research should explore the methods for enhancing social risk screening in telehealth encounters.

Pediatric primary care provider and staff perspectives on the implementation of electronic health record-based social needs interventions: A mixed-methods study

Introduction

Interventions to address social needs in clinical settings can improve child and family health outcomes. Electronic health record (EHR) tools are available to support these interventions but are infrequently used. This mixed-methods study sought to identify approaches for implementing social needs interventions using an existing EHR module in pediatric primary care.

Methods

We conducted focus groups and interviews with providers and staff (n = 30) and workflow assessments (n = 48) at four pediatric clinics. Providers and staff completed measures assessing the acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility of social needs interventions. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research guided the study. A hybrid deductive-inductive approach was used to analyze qualitative data.

Results

Median scores (range 1-5) for acceptability (4.9) and appropriateness (5.0) were higher than feasibility (3.9). Perceived barriers to implementation related to duplicative processes, parent disclosure, and staffing limitations. Facilitators included the relative advantage of the EHR module compared to existing documentation practices, importance of addressing social needs, and compatibility with clinic culture and workflow. Self-administered screening was seen as inappropriate for sensitive topics. Strategies identified included providing resource lists, integrating social needs assessments with existing screening questionnaires, and reducing duplicative documentation.

Conclusions

This study offers insight into the implementation of EHR-based social needs interventions and identifies strategies to promote intervention uptake. Findings highlight the need to design interventions that are feasible to implement in real-world settings. Future work should focus on integrating multiple stakeholder perspectives to inform the development of EHR tools and clinical workflows to support social needs interventions.

Intersection of food insecurity and moral experiences of those involved in paediatric healthcare: A scoping review of child, caregiver and healthcare provider perspectives

Food insecurity is a significant social and health issue for children in high-income countries and contributes to sub-optimal child outcomes. This scoping review examines how food insecurity intersects with the moral experiences of those involved in providing and receiving paediatric health care. Multiple databases were searched using a priori inclusion criteria, papers were screened by multiple reviewers. Searches yielded nine papers. Descriptive data was summarised and qualitative results extracted from included papers were analysed using inductive and deductive thematic analysis. Four main themes emerged: Food insecurity threatens caregiver and healthcare provider identity; is food insecurity the business of health? is screening for food insecurity surveillance or facilitating assistance? and the lived experience of navigating the tension of managing food insecurity and a child's health condition. The moral experiences lens has magnified the countless everyday encounters in which values and beliefs about what is 'right' or 'just' can be realised or thwarted in the context of the intersection between healthcare and food insecurity. Review findings have implications relating to the inclusion of children's voices in healthcare settings, healthcare practice and policy design, and the development and use of FI screening tools.

Consensus from an expert panel on how to identify and support food insecurity during pregnancy: A modified Delphi study

BACKGROUND

Food insecurity and hunger during pregnancy have significant implications for the health of the mother and baby. Assisting clinicians when they encounter women who are experiencing hunger or food insecurity during their pregnancy will increase the opportunity for better birth and pregnancy outcomes. At present there are no guidelines for Australian clinicians on how to do this.

METHODS

This study uses a modified Delphi technique, allowing diverse participation in the process, to create consensus on the ways to address and respond to food insecurity during pregnancy. This modified Delphi collected data via two rounds of consensus. The opinions collected from the first round were thematically categorised and grouped. The topics were integrated into the survey for the second round and circulated to participants. During the second round, priorities were scored by giving five points to the topic considered most important, and one point to the least important.

RESULTS

Through two rounds of consultation, the panel achieved consensus on how to identify food insecurity during pregnancy, with some clear items of consensus related to interventions that could be implemented to address food insecurity during pregnancy. Experts achieved consensus on items that have importance at the institution and policy level, as well as services that exist in the community. The consensus across the spectrum of opportunities for assistance, from the clinical, to community-provided assistance, and on to government policy and practice demonstrate the complexity of this issue, and the multipronged approach that will be required to address it.

CONCLUSION

This is the first time such a consultation with experts on hunger and food insecurity during pregnancy has been conducted in Australia. Items that achieved consensus and the importance of the issue suggest several ways forward when working with pregnant women who are hungry and/or food insecure.

"It Made Me Feel like Things Are Starting to Change in Society:" A Qualitative Study to Foster Positive Patient Experiences during Phone-Based Social Needs Interventions

Many healthcare organizations are screening patients for health-related social needs (HRSN) to improve healthcare quality and outcomes. Due to both the COVID-19 pandemic and limited time during clinical visits, much of this screening is now happening by phone. To promote healing and avoid harm, it is vital to understand patient experiences and recommendations regarding these activities. We conducted a pragmatic qualitative study with patients who had participated in a HRSN intervention. We applied maximum variation sampling, completed recruitment and interviews by phone, and carried out an inductive reflexive thematic analysis. From August to November 2021 we interviewed 34 patients, developed 6 themes, and used these themes to create a framework for generating positive patient experiences during phone-based HRSN interventions. First, we found patients were likely to have initial skepticism or reservations about the intervention. Second, we identified 4 positive intervention components regarding patient experience: transparency and respect for patient autonomy; kind demeanor; genuine intention to help; and attentiveness and responsiveness to patients' situations. Finally, we found patients could be left with feelings of appreciation or hope, regardless of whether they connected with HRSN resources. Healthcare organizations can incorporate our framework into trainings for team members carrying out phone-based HRSN interventions.

Community Resource Connection for Pediatric Caregivers With Unmet Social Needs: A Qualitative Study

OBJECTIVE

Pediatric health systems are increasingly screening caregivers for unmet social needs. However, it remains unclear how best to connect families with unmet needs to available and appropriate community resources. We aimed to explore caregivers' perceived barriers to and facilitators of community resource connection.

METHODS

We conducted semistructured interviews with caregivers of pediatric patients admitted to one inpatient unit of an academic quaternary care children's hospital. All caregivers who screened positive for one or more unmet social needs on a tablet-based screener were invited to participate in an interview. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded by 2 independent coders using content analysis, resolving discrepancies by consensus. Interviews continued until thematic saturation was achieved.

RESULTS

We interviewed 28 of 31 eligible caregivers. Four primary themes emerged. First, caregivers of children with complex chronic conditions felt that competing priorities related to their children's medical care often made it more challenging to establish connection with resources. Second, caregivers cited burdensome application and enrollment processes as a barrier to resource connection. Third, caregivers expressed a preference for geographically tailored, web-based resources, rather than paper resources. Last, caregivers expressed a desire for ongoing longitudinal support in establishing and maintaining connections with community resources after their child's hospital discharge.

CONCLUSION

Pediatric caregivers with unmet social needs reported competing priorities and burdensome application processes as barriers to resource connection. Electronic resources can help caregivers identify locally available services, but longitudinal supports may also be needed to ensure caregivers can establish and maintain linkages with these services.

Clinical and public policy interventions to address food insecurity among children

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This article describes the impacts of food insecurity (FI) on child health, outlines clinical and public policy interventions to mitigate FI in children, and defines new paradigms in population health to ameliorate the harmful effects of FI in children.

RECENT FINDINGS

Rates of FI among children have dramatically increased with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with particular adverse impact on low-income children. Population health innovations in screening, referral, and social service integration offer new opportunities to address FI.

SUMMARY

Despite advances in clinical practice and public policy, FI remains a persistent issue for many US children. Clinicians and policymakers have opportunities to leverage clinical and community-based integration to improve service delivery opportunities to ameliorate childhood hunger and racial and socioeconomic inequity in the United States.

Barriers and facilitators to implementation of the Accountable Health Communities (AHC) Model: Findings from a between-site qualitative assessment of implementation strategies

Introduction

A multitude of HRSN interventions are undergoing testing in the U.S., with the CMS Accountable Health Communities (AHC) Model as the largest. HRSN interventions typically include screening for social needs, referral to community resources, and patient navigation to ensure needs are met. There is currently a paucity of evidence on implementation of HRSN interventions. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) is a determinant framework widely used to plan and assess implementation. To the authors knowledge, there are no published studies assessing CFIR constructs for HRSN intervention implementation in the U.S. In the Assessment step of the Strengthening Peer AHC Navigation (SPAN) model, a between-site qualitative assessment methodology was used to examine implementation within and between AHC bridge organizations (BOs) within six ERIC implementation strategies identified by the authors based on AHC Model requirements.

Objective

Our aim was to identify and present between-site barriers and facilitators to AHC Model implementation strategies.

Design

A multi-site qualitative analysis methodology was used. CFIR determinants were linked to six Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC) strategies: staff training, identify and prepare champions, facilitation, community resource engagement (alignment through advisory boards and working groups), data systems, and quality monitoring and assurance. Interviews were analyzed using thematic content analysis in NVivo 12 (QSR International).

Setting

Five health-related bridge organizations participating in the AHC Model.

Results

Fifty-eight interviews were completed with 34 staff and 24 patients or patient proxies. Facilitators were identified across five of the six ERIC strategies. Barriers were identified across all six. While organizations found the AHC Model compatible and facilitators to implementation included previous experience, meeting patient needs and resources, and leadership engagement and support, a number of barriers presented challenges to implementation. Issues with adequate staff training, staff skills to resolve HRSN, including patient communication and boundary spanning, setting staff goals, beneficiary caseloads and measurement of progress, data infrastructure (including EHR), available resources to implement and differences in perceptions between clinical delivery site (CDS), and CSP of how to measure and resolve HRSN.

Conclusions and relevance

The conduct of a pre-implementation readiness assessment benefited from identifying CFIR determinants linked to various ERIC implementation strategies.

Pathways by Which Food Insecurity Is Associated With Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk

Background Food insecurity (FI) has been associated with an increased atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk; however, the pathways by which FI leads to worse cardiovascular health are unknown. We tested the hypothesis that FI is associated with ASCVD risk through nutritional/anthropometric (eg, worse diet quality and increased weight), psychological/mental health (eg, increased depressive symptoms and risk of substance abuse), and access to care pathways. Methods and Results We conducted a cross-sectional study of adults (aged 40-79 years) using the 2007 to 2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Our primary exposure was household FI, and our outcome was 10-year ASCVD risk categorized as low (<5%), borderline (≥5% -<7.5%), intermediate (≥7.5%-<20%), and high risk (≥20%). We used structural equation modeling to evaluate the pathways and multiple mediation analysis to determine direct and indirect effects. Of the 12 429 participants, 2231 (18.0%) reported living in a food-insecure household; 5326 (42.9%) had a low ASCVD risk score, 1402 (11.3%) borderline, 3606 (29.0%) intermediate, and 2095 (16.9%) had a high-risk score. In structural models, we found significant path coefficients between FI and the nutrition/anthropometric (β, 0.130; SE, 0.027; P<0.001), psychological/mental health (β, 0.612; SE, 0.043; P<0.001), and access to care (β, 0.110; SE, 0.036; P=0.002) pathways. We did not find a significant direct effect of FI on ASCVD risk, and the nutrition, psychological, and access to care pathways accounted for 31.6%, 43.9%, and 15.8% of the association, respectively. Conclusions We found that the association between FI and ASCVD risk category was mediated through the nutrition/anthropometric, psychological/mental health, and access to care pathways. Interventions that address all 3 pathways may be needed to mitigate the negative impact of FI on cardiovascular disease.

Implementing food bank and healthcare partnerships: a pilot study of perspectives from charitable food systems in Texas

Background

Partnerships between charitable food systems and healthcare systems have been forming across the country to support individuals and families experiencing food insecurity, yet little research has focused on these partnerships, particularly from a food bank perspective. The objective of this exploratory pilot study was to identify implementation challenges and facilitators of charitable food system and healthcare partnerships from the food bank perspective.

Method

Texas food banks with existing food bank/healthcare partnerships were identify through website review and support from Feeding Texas. Interview questions were tailored to each interview, but all focused on identify program components of the food bank/healthcare partnership and implementation barriers/facilitators of the partnership. In total, six interviews were conducted with food bank/healthcare partnership leaders (n = 4) and charitable food system experts (n = 2) about their experiences of working with food bank/healthcare partnerships. All interviews were completed via Zoom and took between 30 and 60 min to completed. Detailed notes were taking during each interview, and immediately discussed with the complete research time to formulate broad implementation themes.

Results

Interviews suggest unique implementation challenges exist at all levels of food bank/healthcare partnerships including the partnership, program, and system levels. Partnership-level implementation challenges focused on issues of partnership scale and data collection, sharing, and analysis. Program-level implementation challenges focused on food and produce expectations. Structural-level implementation challenges included issues of food safety, subsidized food regulations, and patient privacy. Implementation facilitators included leadership support, mission compatibility/organizational readiness, food insecurity training, and identify of partnership champions.

Conclusions

This study adds to the growing interest in food bank/healthcare partnership as it highlights unique implementation challenges and facilitators for cross-sector partnerships between healthcare systems and community-based charitable food systems. Ultimately, we believe that collaborative discussion among leaders of charitable food systems and healthcare systems is needed to overcome outlined implementation challenges to better facilitate sustainable, equitable implementation of food bank/healthcare partnerships.

Screening and Referral Care Delivery Services and Unmet Health-Related Social Needs: A Systematic Review

Introduction

Unmet health-related social needs contribute to high patient morbidity and poor population health. A potential solution to improve population health includes the adoption of care delivery models that alleviate unmet needs through screening, referral, and tracking of patients in health care settings, yet the overall impact of such models has remained unexplored. This review addresses an existing gap in the literature regarding the effectiveness of these models and assesses their overall impact on outcomes related to experience of care, population health, and costs.

Methods

In March 2020, we searched for peer-reviewed articles published in PubMed over the past 10 years. Studies were included if they 1) used a screening tool for identifying unmet health-related social needs in a health care setting, 2) referred patients with positive screens to appropriate resources for addressing identified unmet health-related social needs, and 3) reported any outcomes related to patient experience of care, population health, or cost.

Results

Of 1,821 articles identified, 35 met the inclusion criteria. All but 1 study demonstrated a tendency toward high risk of bias. Improved outcomes related to experience of care (eg, change in social needs, patient satisfaction, n = 34), population health (eg, diet quality, blood cholesterol levels, n = 7), and cost (eg, program costs, cost-effectiveness, n = 3) were reported. In some studies (n = 5), improved outcomes were found among participants who received direct referrals or additional assistance with indirect referrals compared with those who received indirect referrals only.

Conclusion

Effective collaborations between health care organizations and community-based organizations are essential to facilitate necessary patient connection to resources for addressing their unmet needs. Although evidence indicated a positive influence of screening and referral programs on outcomes related to experience of care and population health, no definitive conclusions can be made on overall impact because of the potentially high risk of bias in the included studies.

Identification of factors related to food insecurity and the implications for social determinants of health screenings

Background

Food insecurity and other social determinants of health are increasingly being measured at routine health care visits. Understanding the needs and behaviors of individuals or families who screen positive for food insecurity may inform the types of resources they need. The goal of this research was to identify modifiable characteristics related to endorsement of two food insecurity screener questions to better understand the resources necessary to improve outcomes.

Methods

Analysis was conducted focusing on cross-sectional survey data collected in 2015–2016 from participants (N = 442) living in urban neighborhoods in Ohio with limited access to grocery stores. Food insecurity was assessed by the endorsement of at least one of two items. These were used to categorize participants into two groups: food insecure(N = 252) or food secure (N = 190). Using logistic regression, we estimated the association between several variables and the food insecure classification.

Results

Those that used their own car when shopping for food had lower odds of reporting food insecurity, as did those with affirmative attitudes related to the convenience of shopping for and ease of eating healthy foods. As shopping frequency increased, the odds of food insecurity increased. Food insecurity also increased with experience of a significant life event within the past 12 months. There was an 81% increase in the odds of reporting food insecurity among participants who received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits compared to those not receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.

Conclusions

Along with referrals to SNAP, clinicians can further address screening-identified food insecurity through provision of transportation supports and linkages to other social services while collaborating on community initiatives to promote convenient and easy access to healthy foods. The needs and behaviors associated with screens indicating food insecurity also have implications for impacting other SDH, and thus, health outcomes.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-021-11465-6.

Implementing Community Resource Referral Technology: Facilitators And Barriers Described By Early Adopters

Health care organizations are increasingly implementing programs to address patients' social conditions. To support these efforts, new technology platforms have emerged to facilitate referrals to community social services organizations. To understand the functionalities of these platforms and identify the lessons learned by their early adopters in health care, we reviewed nine platforms that were on the market in 2018 and interviewed representatives from thirty-five early-adopter health care organizations. We identified key informants through solicited expert recommendations and web searches. With minor variations, all platforms in the sample provided similar core functionalities: screening for social risks, a resource directory, referral management, care coordination, privacy protection, systems integration, and reporting and analytics. Early adopters reported three key implementation challenges: engaging community partners, managing internal change processes, and ensuring compliance with privacy regulations. We conclude that early engagement with social services partners, funding models that support both direct and indirect costs, and stronger evidence of effectiveness together could help advance platform adoption.

Medicaid's EPSDT Benefit: An Opportunity to Improve Pediatric Screening for Social Determinants of Health

The Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) benefit is a key component of Medicaid policy intended to define an essential set of services provided to patients younger than age 21. Given increasing attention to social determinants of health in pediatric health care, this qualitative review examines the extent to which EPSDT might be used to implement structured screening to identify environmental and social factors affecting children's health. Themes derived from semistructured interviews conducted in 2017 were triangulated with a review of the recent literature to describe how states currently consider the EPSDT benefit with respect to social determinants of health screening. Our findings suggest that, with sufficient stakeholder advocacy given the evidence supporting social determinants of health screening as "medically necessary," EPSDT benefits could be considered as a funding source to incentivize the incorporation of social determinants of health screening into the basic package of well-child care.

Food insecurity, participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and the degree to which patients anticipate help from clinics to find food in Los Angeles County

Healthcare clinics are uniquely positioned to screen for food insecurity and refer patients to food resources. This study examines this approach to address this social condition. A 2018 intercept survey of 1,103 adult patients recruited from across 11 clinic waiting rooms in Los Angeles County was conducted to describe the prevalence of food insecurity and whether Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation and the degree to which patients anticipated their clinics to help them locate food varied by socio-demographic factors. The prevalence of food insecurity was high for this low-income survey sample (63.4%); 72% of Spanish-speaking Latinx reported experiencing it. For those who experienced food insecurity, older age was associated with lower odds of SNAP participation. Spanish-speaking Latinx had higher odds of anticipating help from a clinic to find food relative to English-speaking Latinx (Adjusted Odds Ratio 1.88, 95% Confidence Interval: 1.18, 2.98). An exploratory analysis showed that common reasons for not enrolling in SNAP included older adults not knowing how to apply to the program and Spanish-speaking Latinx worrying about citizenship status as it relates to the eligibility process. Findings revealed disparities in the prevalence of food insecurity and SNAP participation among patients of Los Angeles' low income clinics. Information from this study can help inform low-income clinics' efforts to intervene on food insecurity in their patient population.

Screening for Immigration-Related Health Concerns in a Federally Qualified Health Center Serving a Diverse Latinx Community: A Mixed Methods Study

Immigration-related concerns can impact health and are an important consideration while caring for a multinational Latinx immigrant community. Patients and caregivers waiting for a non-urgent clinic appointment were randomly screened with one of two social risk screening tools. One tool included a question about "any health or stability concerns related to immigration status." The other tool did not include an immigration health question. Immediately following, respondents were invited to participate in a semi-structured interview regarding their social risk screening experience. 201 screens were completed, and 20 patients agreed to an interview. There were no significant sociodemographic differences between groups. Of those screened for immigration, 11% reported a concern. In both arms, interviewees felt that social risk screening was acceptable in a clinic setting. Questions about immigration are timely, important, and relevant, and can be considered when implementing social assessments in communities where there are high levels of trust in providers.

Implementing Social Determinants of Health Screening at Community Health Centers: Clinician and Staff Perspectives

Purpose: Screening for social determinants of health (SDOH) during primary care office visits is recommended by pediatric and internal medicine professional guidelines. Less is known about how SDOH screening and service referral can be successfully integrated into clinical practice. Methods: Key informant interviews with 11 community health center (CHC) clinicians and staff members (medical assistants and case managers) were analyzed to identify themes related to integrating a SDOH screening and referral process (augmented WE CARE model) into their workflow. Results: CHC clinicians and staff believed the augmented WE CARE model benefited their patients and the CHC’s mission. Most clinicians found the model was easy to implement. Some staff members had difficulty prioritizing the nonclinical intervention and were confused about their roles and the role of the patient navigator. The eligibility requirements and time needed to access local SDOH resources frustrated clinicians. Discussion: SDOH screening and referral care models can help support the mission of CHCs by identifying unmet material needs. However, CHCs have organizational and administrative challenges that successful interventions must address. CHCs need clinical champions for SDOH models because the screening and follow-up processes involve clinical staff. Additional support for SDOH models might include piloting the SDOH screening model workflow and formalizing the workflow before implementation, including the specific roles for clinicians, staff, and patient navigators.

Clinician Experiences and Attitudes Regarding Screening for Social Determinants of Health in a Large Integrated Health System

BACKGROUND

Clinical screening for basic social needs-such as food and housing insecurity-is becoming more common as health systems develop programs to address social determinants of health. Clinician attitudes toward such programs are largely unexplored.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the attitudes and experiences of social needs screening among a variety of clinicians and other health care professionals.

RESEARCH DESIGN

Multicenter electronic and paper-based survey.

SUBJECTS

Two hundred fifty-eight clinicians including primarily physicians, social workers, nurses, and pharmacists from a large integrated health system in Southern California.

MEASURES

Level of agreement with prompts exploring attitudes toward and barriers to screening and addressing social needs in different clinical settings.

RESULTS

Overall, most health professionals supported social needs screening in clinical settings (84%). Only a minority (41%) of clinicians expressed confidence in their ability to address social needs, and less than a quarter (23%) routinely screen for social needs currently. Clinicians perceived lack of time to ask (60%) and resources (50%) to address social needs as their most significant barriers. We found differences by health profession in attitudes toward and barriers to screening for social needs, with physicians more likely to cite time constraints as a barrier.

CONCLUSIONS

Clinicians largely support social needs programs, but they also recognize key barriers to their implementation. Health systems interested in implementing social needs programs should consider the clinician perspective around the time and resources required for such programs and address these perceived barriers.

We Have All Been Working in Our Own Little Silos Forever: Exploring a Cross-Sector Response to Child Maltreatment

OBJECTIVE

A child protective services (CPS) investigation for maltreatment signals risk for childhood toxic stress and poor health outcomes. Despite this, communication between child welfare and health care professionals is rare. We present a qualitative exploration of experiences with, barriers to, and hopes for cross-sector collaboration for children with suspected maltreatment.

METHODS

We conducted focus groups with child welfare and health care professionals participating in a cross-sector learning collaborative to improve care for children at high risk for toxic stress. Participants were asked to describe 2 phenomena: identifying and responding to childhood adversities in their professional settings and cross-sector collaboration in cases of suspected maltreatment. Analysis included an iterative process of reading, coding and comparing themes across groups.

RESULTS

Health care professionals shared positive experiences in screening for social risks in clinic, while child welfare professionals expressed mixed attitudes toward social risk screening during CPS investigations. Consistent with prior research, health care professionals reported limited communication with CPS caseworkers about patients but suggested that relationships with child welfare professionals might reduce these barriers. Child welfare professionals described the poor quality of information provided in referrals from medical settings. Caseworkers also recognized that improved communication could support better understanding of maltreatment concerns and sharing of outcomes of CPS investigation.

CONCLUSIONS

Our project extends previously published research by describing potential benefits of child welfare and child health care collaboration in cases of suspected maltreatment. Lack of effective cross-sector communication and concerns about confidentiality present significant barriers to uptake of these collaborative practices.

Massachusetts Community-Based Organization Perspectives on Medicaid Redesign

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of the study is to investigate how community-based organizations perceive Medicaid policy changes to address the social determinants of health.

METHODS

This study included 46 key informant interviews, representing 44 community-based organizations across Massachusetts conducted from September 2017 to March 2018. The interviews were designed to collect community-based organizations' perceptions of Medicaid policy changes. An Advisory Board was empaneled for feedback on data collection and analysis. Massachusetts was chosen as a study site in light of explicit policy efforts to incentivize healthcare organizations to take a more active role in social determinants of health, most notably through the creation of Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations.

RESULTS

The community-based organizations expressed optimism about future partnerships with healthcare organizations. This optimism existed alongside the recognition that healthcare organizations and community-based organizations can have conflicting agendas, including misaligned outcomes of interest and timelines. Community-based organizations struggled to define a clear strategy for partnership in the face of incomplete information about how the final Medicaid redesign would proceed and what healthcare providers would be looking for in a partner.

CONCLUSIONS

Changes to Medicaid policy can catalyze interest in partnership between healthcare organizations and community-based organizations. To minimize the impact of conflicting agendas, policymakers and healthcare leadership should ensure community-based organizations are part of strategy development and social service program implementation.

SUPPLEMENT INFORMATION

This article is part of a supplement entitled Identifying and Intervening on Social Needs in Clinical Settings: Evidence and Evidence Gaps, which is sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Kaiser Permanente, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Caregivers' Experiences With Food Insecurity Screening and Impact of Food Insecurity Resources

We explored caregivers' experiences with food insecurity screening in a primary care setting and the impact of resources provided. English- and Spanish-speaking food insecure caregivers of children aged 1 to 5 years were recruited. In-depth individual semistructured interviews were conducted (n = 17) eliciting caregivers' experiences with food insecurity, clinic screening, and resources provided. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Interviews were double-coded and thematic analysis was used to identify themes and subthemes. All caregivers described multiple and repeat experiences with food insecurity. Food insecurity screening was acceptable, but families were not always connected with resources. Caregivers described WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) as the most commonly used program to address food insecurity and infrequently utilized other food insecurity resources. Screening for food insecurity in primary care was generally well accepted by this sample of food insecure caregivers. Future studies are needed to determine how to improve connecting resources with families most in need.

Part I: A Quantitative Study of Social Risk Screening Acceptability in Patients and Caregivers

INTRODUCTION

Despite recent growth in healthcare delivery-based social risk screening, little is known about patient perspectives on these activities. This study evaluates patient and caregiver acceptability of social risk screening.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional survey of 969 adult patients and adult caregivers of pediatric patients recruited from 6 primary care clinics and 4 emergency departments across 9 states. Survey items included the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation Accountable Health Communities' social risk screening tool and questions about appropriateness of screening and comfort with including social risk data in electronic health records. Logistic regressions evaluated covariate associations with acceptability measures. Data collection occurred from July 2018 to February 2019; data analyses were conducted in February‒March 2019.

RESULTS

Screening was reported as appropriate by 79% of participants; 65% reported comfort including social risks in electronic health records. In adjusted models, higher perceived screening appropriateness was associated with previous exposure to healthcare-based social risk screening (AOR=1.82, 95% CI=1.16, 2.88), trust in clinicians (AOR=1.55, 95% CI=1.00, 2.40), and recruitment from a primary care setting (AOR=1.70, 95% CI=1.23, 2.38). Lower appropriateness was associated with previous experience of healthcare discrimination (AOR=0.66, 95% CI=0.45, 0.95). Higher comfort with electronic health record documentation was associated with previously receiving assistance with social risks in a healthcare setting (AOR=1.47, 95% CI=1.04, 2.07).

CONCLUSIONS

A strong majority of adult patients and caregivers of pediatric patients reported that social risk screening was appropriate. Most also felt comfortable including social risk data in electronic health records. Although multiple factors influenced acceptability, the effects were moderate to small. These findings suggest that lack of patient acceptability is unlikely to be a major implementation barrier.

SUPPLEMENT INFORMATION

This article is part of a supplement entitled Identifying and Intervening on Social Needs in Clinical Settings: Evidence and Evidence Gaps, which is sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Kaiser Permanente, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Integration of the Safe Environment for Every Kid (SEEK) Model Across Primary Care Settings

This project sought to assess the generalizability, barriers, and facilitators of implementing the Safe Environment for Every Kid (SEEK) model for addressing psychosocial risk factors for maltreatment across multiple primary care settings, including a pediatric practice, federally qualified health center, and family medicine practice. The SEEK model includes screening caregivers for psychosocial risk factors at well-child visits age 0 to 5 years, brief intervention incorporating principles of motivational interviewing to engage caregivers, and referral to treatment. All practices successfully implemented SEEK, with screening completion rates from 75% to 93% and brief intervention rates from 61% to 81%. Major parental stress (14%) and food insecurity (11%) were the most common risk factors. Providers found SEEK worthwhile for improving their knowledge, skills, and ability to address psychosocial concerns and provide whole person care. Barriers included limited time and resources, incomplete resource knowledge, and lack of follow-up. Facilitators included on-site support staff to assist with communication and referrals.

Food for Thought: A Randomized Trial of Food Insecurity Screening in the Emergency Department

BACKGROUND

Despite the growing interest in screening for food insecurity in the clinical setting, little evidence exists regarding screening formats that maximize disclosure and caregiver comfort.

METHODS

In this randomized trial, we asked English-speaking adult caregivers of pediatric patients in the emergency department at an urban, freestanding children's hospital to complete a validated, 2-question screen for food insecurity. Respondents were assigned via block randomization to complete the survey by either verbal interview or electronic tablet. Caregivers reported the perceived importance of the screening questions, comfort level with screening in the emergency department or in their child's primary care site, and their preferred screening modality.

RESULTS

Of the 1818 participants, 20.6% screened positive for food insecurity. There was a significantly higher rate of reported food insecurity for those screened by tablet (23.6%) compared to those screened verbally (17.7%) (P = .002). Of those who had a preference of screening modality, 83.2% of all participants and 84.5% of patients reporting food insecurity preferred the tablet-based screen over verbal interview. Overall, more participants reported comfort completing the screen in the emergency department compared to their child's doctor's office; however, comfort in both of these setting was rated highly (86.1% vs 80.2%; P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

Although both verbal interview and tablet-based screening modalities were effective in identifying food insecurity, tablet-based screening had a higher disclosure rate and was the participants' preferred screening method. There is a high level of comfort with screening regardless of clinical setting; it is possible that an added level of anonymity in the emergency department enhanced participants' comfort levels.

Identifying Food Insecurity in Health Care Settings: A Systematic Scoping Review of the Evidence

This systematic scoping review explores evidence on food insecurity (FI) screening measures, acceptability, and program implementation in health care settings. Validation studies on brief screening tools suggest that instruments exist that adequately measure the construct of FI. Patients and clinicians found FI screening acceptable in a range of clinical settings, though studies are not high quality and rarely reflect substantial patient diversity. Targeted interventions successfully increased screening rates and reduced screening barriers. More research is needed to understand implementation and effectiveness of FI screening in diverse populations to ensure that evolving practices in this area do not widen health inequities.

[Can primary health care strengthen the right to adequate food as a human right in Latin America?¿Cómo la atención primaria de salud puede fortalecer la alimentación adecuada como derecho en América Latina?]

Forty years ago, the Declaration of Alma-Ata emphasized health as a human right, introduced primary health care (PHC) as a strategy to attain an acceptable level of health for all, and included the issue of food and nutrition as an integral part of PHC. The right to adequate food (RAF) is closely related to the right to health, since it is essential to ensure dignified living conditions that promote health. The historical peculiarities and the political and economic position of Latin America constitute barriers for the full realization of human rights, and especially social rights. In this sense, the present article aims to explore the modes by which PHC services can leverage the RAF in Latin America. In addition, the article describes measures that exemplify how countries can strengthen RAF through PHC. Finally, the text seeks to recover the emancipatory potential of PHC through a vision of human rights enforcement beyond the right to health. The overview shows that PHC has the capacity to fulfill human rights that are interdependent on health in the Latin American context.

Perspectives from the Society for Pediatric Research: interventions targeting social needs in pediatric clinical care

The social determinants of health (SDoH) are defined by the World Health Organization as the "conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age." Within pediatrics, studies have highlighted links between these underlying social, economic, and environmental conditions, and a range of health outcomes related to both acute and chronic disease. Additionally, within the adult literature, multiple studies have shown significant links between social problems experienced during childhood and "adult diseases" such as diabetes mellitus and hypertension. A variety of potential mechanisms for such links have been explored including differential access to care, exposure to carcinogens and pathogens, health-affecting behaviors, and physiologic responses to allostatic load (i.e., toxic stress). This robust literature supports the importance of the SDoH and the development and evaluation of social needs interventions. These interventions are also driven by evolving economic realities, most importantly, the shift from fee-for-service to value-based payment models. This article reviews existing evidence regarding pediatric-focused clinical interventions that address the SDoH, those that target basic needs such as food insecurity, housing insecurity, and diminished access to care. The paper summarizes common challenges encountered in the evaluation of such interventions. Finally, the paper concludes by introducing key opportunities for future inquiry.

Lessons Learned from Implementation of the Food Insecurity Screening and Referral Program at Kaiser Permanente Colorado

Traditionally, health care systems have addressed gaps in patients' diet quality with programs that provide dietary counseling and education, without addressing food security. However, health care systems increasingly recognize the need to address food security to effectively support population health and the prevention and management of diet-sensitive chronic illnesses. Numerous health care systems have implemented screening programs to identify food insecurity in their patients and to refer them to community food resources to support food security. This article describes barriers encountered and lessons learned from implementation and expansion of the Kaiser Permanente Colorado's clinical food insecurity screening and referral program, which operates in collaboration with a statewide organization (Hunger Free Colorado) to manage clinic-to-community referrals. The immediate goals of clinical screening interventions described in this article are to identify households experiencing food insecurity, to connect them to sustainable (federal) and emergency (community-based) food resources, to alleviate food insecurity, and to improve dietary quality. Additional goals are to improve health outcomes, to decrease health care utilization, to improve patient satisfaction, and to better engage patients in their care.