Social Determinants of Health

Is Implicit Bias Behind Racial Disparities in Treatment Recommendation?

by Sarai Rodriguez

Unconscious, implicit bias towards Black patients may be the central factor influencing racial disparities in provider recommendations for certain treatment options, such as the removal of brain...

Accountable Health Communities Grant Cut Healthcare Utilization

by Sarai Rodriguez

By implementing a cross-sector community health program to address a communitywide social determinant of health, Reading Hospital, an Accountable Health Communities (AHC) model grantee, addressed food...

Understanding the “Sandwich Generation” of Family Caregivers

by Sara Heath

A new study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society provides some insight into the “sandwich generation,” the middle-aged adults who care both for their children and...

Access to Contraceptives Improves College Graduation Rates 12%

by Sara Heath

Access to contraceptives via the federal Title X Family Planning program increased the rate at which women graduated with a bachelor’s degree by between 6 and 12 percent, underscoring how...

Many Seniors Rely on Public Transportation to Drive Healthcare Access

by Sarai Rodriguez

More than 3 million seniors in the United States reported recently using public transportation, with over 600,000 turning to these services for healthcare access, according to a new study led by...

Inflation Spurs Healthcare Affordability, Patient Care Access Woes

by Sara Heath

The nation’s problems with inflation are spilling over into the medical sector, with people reporting that higher prices are causing healthcare affordability and patient care access challenges,...

Behind The Scenes of Accountable Health Communities, SDOH Screening Model

by Sara Heath

Healthcare organizations nationwide are clamoring over social determinants of health (SDOH) screening and intervention strategies nowadays, but that wasn’t entirely the case even five years ago, according to Steve Miff, MD, the...

Medically Tailored Meals Could Cut $13.6B, Avert Hospital Admissions

by Sara Heath

Medically tailored meals, a key tool in the push to address food insecurity and social determinants of health, could save the healthcare industry some $13.6 billion in costs from the payer perspective,...

HHS Announces Initiatives to Address Language Barriers in Care Access

by Sarai Rodriguez

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced several commitments to ease language barriers preventing care access. “We know that people with limited English proficiency...

Patient Engagement Strategies for Home Healthcare Providers

by Sara Heath

As home healthcare becomes a regular fixture in medicine, it will be key for clinicians delivering home-based care to understand key patient engagement strategies. Patient engagement strategies for home healthcare don’t stray too...

Discrimination Shapes Care Access for Patients with Disabilities

by Sarai Rodriguez

Researchers found that patients with disabilities continue to experience unequal care access impacted by provider discrimination and implicit bias, even 30 years after the passage of the Americans with...

What Are Political Determinants of Health & Do They Differ from SDOH?

by Sara Heath

Social determinants of health have become almost something of a catchall term when it comes to the non-clinical factors that impact overall well-being. But drilling that concept down further, some healthcare industry leaders are starting...

Which Social Determinants of Health Interventions Yield Best ROI?

by Sara Heath

Social determinants of health interventions focused on housing security, including addressing houselessness and making home modifications to improve housing quality, improve clinical outcomes and...

Soaring Food Costs Worsen Food Insecurity, SDOH for Older Adults

by Sarai Rodriguez

Older adults are among those the hardest hit by the current surging food costs, exacerbating nutrition gaps and food insecurity issues this population already faces, according to new findings from the...

White House Targets Food Insecurity, Social Determinants of Health

by Sara Heath

The White House wants to end hunger by 2030, the Biden Administration announced in its recently released National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. The Strategy is part of a weeklong...

Geographic Care Access Barriers Exist in Urban Areas, Impact Minorities

by Sara Heath

Even in urban areas, long travel distances contribute to geographic care access barriers, particularly for cardiac rehabilitation that’s necessary after a traumatic cardiac event, like a heart...

Understanding Adverse Childhood Experiences, Pediatric SDOH

by Sara Heath

As part of their pursuit of understanding and addressing social determinants of health, medical professionals should also consider adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). According to data from the National Survey of Children’s...

Which Adverse Childhood Experiences Increase Premature Death Risk?

by Sara Heath

Living in poverty, separation from a parent, and parental harshness or neglect are all key adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) that lead to an increased risk for premature death in adulthood,...

SDOH Screening Questions Accurately Predict Future Homelessness

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...