Social Determinants of Health Screening at Well Child Visits: A Pilot Program Implemented During the COVID-19 Pandemic

• Main Authors: Pyone David MD, MSW (Author), Nadia K. Qureshi MD (Author), Lina Ha MD (Author), Vera Goldberg MD (Author), Erin McCune BS (Author), Jennifer Wojtowicz MPH (Author), Katlyn Sullivan MSc (Author), Garry Sigman MD (Author), Julie C. O'Keefe MD (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: SAGE Publishing, 2021-11-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

This study demonstrates the challenges of establishing social determinants of health (SDH) screening at well child visits (WCVs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a 6-month pre-intervention retrospective chart review (2/2020-8/2020) and 6-month post-intervention prospective chart review (8/2020-2/2021) of an SDH screening and referral protocol at a single suburban academic pediatric clinic. WCVs were screened for food, financial, and transportation needs. With the new protocol, 46% of eligible WCVs (n = 1253/2729) had documented screening results. Self-report of screened visits found 34.6% with financial strain, 32% with worry about food insecurity, 25.1% with food insecurity, 5.3% with medical transportation difficulties, and 6% with daily living transportation difficulties. There was an increase in resources offered during the post-intervention period (OR = 11.5 [7.1-18.6], P  < .001). There was also an increase in resident physician self-reported knowledge in providing referrals ( P  = .04).

Item Description

2333-794X
10.1177/2333794X211060971