Improving Social Determinants of Health Provider Education: A Step Towards Health Equity

Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement project is to promote education to providers regarding the impact of Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) on health equity and to increase awareness of the importance of including SDOH questions in the intake of patients. This knowledge will help prepare clinicians for future implementation of SDOH data collection and utilization to formulate holistic care plans and improve health outcomes. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted SDOH and their adverse impacts on population health. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has taken measures to address SDOH and updated the Ten Essential Public Health Services Framework to “protect and Promote the health of all people in all communities” (CMS, 2023). The World Health Organization has highlighted the significance of addressing SDOH to improve health and decrease inequities (WHO, n.d.). Studies have demonstrated that educating providers on SDOH is vital in improving provider awareness and care of disadvantaged populations. Methods: This quality improvement project utilized the Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) framework (Christoff, 2018) at a large southwest health care facility in Queen Creek to increase provider knowledge on the impacts of SDOH on health outcomes and health inequity. Providers participated in a pre-survey to assess their understanding of SDOH, followed by an educational intervention discussing the importance of SDOH. After completing the education intervention, providers took a post-survey to evaluate the gained knowledge. A brief overview of the project was also shared with providers during the provider monthly meeting. Results: Data was gathered and analyzed to determine the effectiveness of the educational intervention. A total of 6 participants completed both pre- and post-surveys. There was a significant improvement in providers' knowledge related to SDOH when the results of the pre- and post- surveys were compared. Compared to the baseline, there was a 109% improvement in provider knowledge regarding SDOH. Conclusions: This project paved the way for the initiative to implement a SDOH screening tool and was successful in improving providers' knowledge regarding SDOH using an educational intervention. The project also increased providers' desire to gather SDOH data and increase understanding regarding resources available to patients in the community.

Name thesis:degree_name

D.N.P.

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Graduate College

Grantor dc:publisher

The University of Arizona.

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Williams, Anita Fernandes

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Lindstrom-Mette, Ambur M.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Kenneally, Maria
• Pacheco, Christy

• SDOH
• social determinants of health

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction, presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10150/675520

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.arizona.edu:10150/675520