Patient Care Access News

SDOH Screening Questions Accurately Predict Future Homelessness

Two SDOH screening questions about homelessness had both high sensitivity and high specificity, proving their utility in social determinants of health work.

sdoh screening questions about homelessness are effective

Source: Getty Images

By Sara Heath

- Researchers may have uncovered two new SDOH screening questions to ask in the emergency department, with the questions accurately predicting future homelessness, according to new data in JAMA Network Open.

Particularly, the study found that those responding to social determinants of health screening that they thought they may be homeless in the next two months had a higher likelihood of that homelessness coming to fruition.

Being able to effectively screen for and predict future homelessness gives healthcare providers and their community health partners the tools they need for early intervention, preventing serious social determinants of health problems down the road.