Social disparities among youth and the impact on their health

Screening for Financial Hardship: Comparing Patient Survey Responses Using Two Different Screening Tools

BACKGROUND

Healthcare delivery organizations are increasingly screening patients for social risks using tools that vary in content and length.

OBJECTIVES

To compare two screening tools both containing questions related to financial hardship.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional survey.

PARTICIPANTS

Convenience sample of adult patients (n = 471) in three primary care clinics.

MAIN MEASURES

Participants randomly assigned to self-complete either: (1) a screening tool developed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) consisting of six questions on financial hardship (housing stability, housing quality, food security, transportation security, utilities security); or (2) social and behavioral risk measures recommended by the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), including one question on financial hardship (financial strain). We compared patient acceptability of screening, positive screening rates for financial hardship, patient interest in assistance, and self-rated health.

RESULTS

Ninety-one percent of eligible/interested patients completed the relevant survey questions to be included in the study (N = 471/516). Patient acceptability was high for both tools, though more participants reported screening was appropriate when answering the CMS versus NAM questions (87% vs. 79%, p = 0.02). Of respondents completing the CMS tool, 57% (132/232) reported at least one type of financial hardship; on the NAM survey, 52% (125/239) reported financial hardship (p = 0.36). Nearly twice as many respondents indicated interest in assistance related to financial hardship after completing items on the CMS tool than on the NAM question (39% vs. 21%, p < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Patients reported high acceptability of both social risk assessment tools. While rates of positive screens for financial hardship were similar across the two measures, more patients indicated interest in assistance after answering questions about financial hardship on the CMS tool. This might be because the screening questions on the CMS tool help patients to appreciate the types of assistance related to financial hardship that may be available after screening. Future research should assess the validity and comparative validity of individual measures and measure sets. Tool selection should be based on setting and population served, screening goals, and resources available.

Workforce Models to Screen for and Address Patients' Unmet Social Needs in the Clinic Setting: A Scoping Review

Objectives

While healthcare organizations increasingly aim to address the social determinants of health (SDOH) in the clinic setting, there is little guidance on which staff are best equipped to assume this role. The present study is a scoping review of the peer-reviewed literature to characterize workforce models used to screen for and respond to patients’ unmet social needs in ambulatory settings.

Methods

Four online databases were used to identify papers published until February 2021. Eligible articles were original research studies or systematic reviews that described the implementation of a standardized assessment for multiple SDOH domains and resulting activities to respond to individual patient needs (eg, referral to community resources) in ambulatory care settings.

Results

Of the 1569 articles identified, 65 met study eligibility criteria. Majority of studies had observational study designs (11% were randomized control trials). For screening-related activities, more articles reported using traditional healthcare staff (51%), such as medical providers, medical assistants, and front-desk staff, than social care staff (32%), such as social workers and student volunteers. In contrast, for response-related activities, more articles reported using social care staff (88%) than traditional healthcare staff (60%). While we found wide variations in specific team configurations and training for the roles, social care staff generally provided more intensive forms of assistance than traditional healthcare staff.

Conclusion

While this review demonstrates the breadth of models for building or deploying a workforce to integrate health and social care, it also identifies the need for rigorous research on workforce development, implementation, and effectiveness.