Children's Hospitals Today - Fall 2024 - 8

ROUNDS / FROM EXPERIENCE
Get into gear
Six guiding principles
for social drivers of
health screenings.
P
atients often need more than clinical
care to support good outcomes. Social
drivers of health-the nonmedical factors
in people's home and community-influence
patients' ability to manage chronic
conditions and health risks.
Take 8-year-old Lucy. Despite being
insulin-dependent, she often missed
primary care and diabetes
clinic
appointments and had been admitted
to Children's Wisconsin multiple times
in diabetic ketoacidosis. Lucy's pediatrician
engaged a
community health
navigator who
learned Lucy and
her mother were
homeless and had
no reliable way to
Discover how children's
hospitals are partnering
with community
organizations to address
social drivers of health
at childrenshospitals.
org/takingaction.
refrigerate insulin. Despite her mother's
best efforts, Lucy could not manage her
diabetes well. Realizing their needs,
hospital staff connected the family
with resources, bringing more stability
to their lives and predictability to Lucy's
medical care. Without the community
health worker, clinical staff would not
have had the complete picture of the
family's challenges, and Lucy's health
would have continued to decline.
Housing is just one of many social
drivers of health that can influence 80%
of health outcomes. Children's hospitals
and pediatric health care providers are
uniquely positioned to identify social
drivers and address them through partnerships
and collaborations. Children's
Hospital Association collected feedback
or experiences from 29 children's
2 ways to screen
Self-administered tablets
* Gives families
privacy.
* Alleviates staff
discomfort.
* Integrates
with EHR.
In-person conversations
* More honest and
complete answers.
* Clearer understanding
of needs.
* Better relationship
with family.
hospitals and health systems, revealing
six key lessons for successful screenings.
1 | Be transparent
Educate families about the screening
process to build trust. Share why the
questions are being asked, how the information
will be used, and what and when
resources may be provided. Nationwide
Children's Hospital created a script for
clinicians to use during screenings stating
that all patients are being asked
the questions and staff will contact the
family if a need is identified. Then, the
hospital requests permission to move
forward with the questionnaire.
2 | Don't assume
Avoid making assumptions about needs
based on perceived socioeconomic
status. Children's Memorial Hermann
Hospital in Houston found positive
screens occur in communities with
higher economic status, which shows
families with health insurance also
have social needs pediatric health care
organizations can address
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CHILDREN'S HOSPITALS TODAY Fall 2024
Children's Hospitals Today - Fall 2024

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