Primary Submission Category: Health care/services
Patient and Provider Perspectives on Social Needs Screening: A Comparison of Two Screening Tools
Authors: Kayla Fennelly, Alessandra Calvo-Friedman, Jenifer Clapp, Julie Hyppolite, Rachel Massar, Arya Singh, Nichola Davis, Carolyn Berry,
Presenting Author: Lorraine Kwok*
The acceptability of social needs screening and referral in primary care settings by both providers and patients has been increasingly studied as the practice becomes more ubiquitous. A qualitative study across three clinics at New York City Health + Hospitals (H+H), the country’s largest urban safety net hospital, explored patient and provider perspectives on social needs screening with a focus on documentation of needs in the electronic medical record (EMR)and a comparison of two screeners. A convenience sampling approach recruited participants across three H+H clinics. Patients,caregivers of pediatric patients, andproviders reviewed a copy of the current H+H screener and the New York State version of the Accountable Health Communities (NYS AHC) screener. In total, we interviewed 22 patients/caregivers and 6 primary care providers. Rapid qualitative analysis was used to analyze transcripts. Patients had little to no concern about documentation of social needs in the EMR and many viewed it positively, noting that it would help their doctors better understand their life situations. However, many patients expressed frustration over the lack of follow up when they had screened positive for a need, especially if they were being screened at every visit. Providers also mentioned patient frustration with the referral process. Regarding screener comparison, there was no clear preference amongst patients for one screener or the other. Providers had concerns regarding the length and complexity of the NYS AHC screener and the presence of domestic and interpersonal violence questions. These results suggest that discomfort related to social needs screening is not related to the screener’s wording but arises from challenges connecting patients to resources, highlighting the importance of ensuring that screener questions are tied to resources for all screened patients.