Open AccessSocial Determinants of Health Screening at Well Child Visits: A Pilot Program Implemented During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Author(s) -
Pyone David,
Nadia K. Qureshi,
Lina Ha,
Vera Goldberg,
Erin McCune,
Jennifer Wojtowicz,
Katlyn Sullivan,
Garry Sigman,
Julie O’Keefe
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
global pediatric health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.354
H-Index - 11
ISSN - 2333-794X
DOI - 10.1177/2333794x211060971
Subject(s) - medicine , referral , worry , intervention (counseling) , pandemic , family medicine , covid-19 , protocol (science) , pediatrics , nursing , alternative medicine , psychiatry , pathology , anxiety , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty)
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).