Researchers document prevalence of patients’ social risks and their desire for health system assistance

Mounting research has shown how social health factors can place people at risk for poor health outcomes. Family physicians and their teams are increasingly called upon to assist patients who struggle with basic needs, such as housing, food and transportation. A new study from Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle, which leads Kaiser Permanente’s Social Needs Network for Evaluation and Translation (SONNET), documented the prevalence of these social risks and assessed patients’ desire for assistance from the health system to address their needs.

Among the findings, 48% of study participants reported one or more social risks, with housing instability the most prevalent (70%). Participants with social risks were twice as likely to report having ‘fair’ or ‘poor health’ – even though they were similar demographically to people who didn’t have social risks. Although 90% of participants believed that health systems should assist patients at risk, 14% who reported having social risks also reported more discomfort being screened for social risks than the 5% who reported no risks. Among those with one to two social risks, only 27% desire assistance from the health system. The findings in this article warrant careful attention, training of clinicians to explore unconscious bias, and system-level culture change. The authors conclude, “Health systems should work to increase the comfort of patients in reporting risks, explore how to successfully assist them when desired, and offer resources to address these risks outside the health care sector.”

Social Risk Factors and Desire for Assistance Among Patients Receiving Subsidized Health Care Insurance in a US-Based Integrated Delivery System
Leah Tuzzio, MPH, et al
Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, Seattle, Washington

https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.2774

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