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Patients Want Providers to Address Social Needs
Recent research from Kaiser Permanente found that Americans believe safe housing, reliable transportation, healthy meals, and supportive social relationships are nearly as important to their overall health and wellbeing as access to doctors and medication. The survey, Social Needs in America, also found that the overwhelming majority of Americans want healthcare providers to help identify and address these social determinants of health, or SDOH.
“Social determinants of health, or the economic and social conditions that influence health, drive most health outcomes,” said Imelda Dacones, MD, CEO of Northwest Permanente. “To address and create total health, we, as physicians, must have systems and networks that address our patients’ social needs.”
Unsurprisingly, 92% of respondents indicated that access to doctors is critical to overall health. Yet, respondents also acknowledged the importance of SDOH. In fact, the majority reported that stable housing stable housing (89%), balanced meals (84%), reliable transportation (80%), and supportive social relationships (72%) are key to overall health.
Though many providers shy away from asking patients non-medical-related questions, a whopping 97% of survey respondents think providers should inquire about social needs. Only a small group would feel annoyed (10%) or nervous (10%) if a provider did so.
While unmet social needs are most widespread among younger and lower-income Americans, unmet social needs are common even among families at the highest income levels ($125k or more). Unfortunately, Americans with unmet social needs are more than twice as likely to suffer poorer physical and mental health than those who have their needs met. More than a quarter of Americans who participated in Kaiser’s survey reported experiencing a barrier to health in the past year due to a social need.
For questions, comments or concerns, please contact Jennifer Duell Popovec
