The National Institutes of Health has started collecting data for one initiative in their All of Us project research program, which aims to shed light on social determinants of health. The program currently has more than 350,000 participants and aims to recruit 1 million or more. The respondents will share information on their health and genetics as…
Health disparities are a long-standing challenge in the United States and worldwide. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its higher impact on vulnerable and marginalized groups, more attention is being directed towards achieving health equity. With a focus on the relationship between health, social factors, and their role in public health, researchers, policy makers…
People often confuse health equity with health equality, but it’s vital that healthcare professionals understand the difference. Health equality essentially means giving every person the same thing, while health equity means giving people what they need to reach the best possible outcome. This, of course, is an important distinction, as social determinants of health (SDoH) often dictate the needs…
The world has witnessed the roll out of multiple effective COVID-19 vaccines. Yet, COVID-19 continues to be an unprecedented challenge, unpinning societies, economies, and health systems. While vaccine campaigns are underway in high-income countries, there is an urgent need to ensure vaccines are prioritized for deployment in low- and middle-income countries. As new, potentially vaccine-resistant variants emerge…
A cancer care delivery model that specifically accounts for social determinants of health not only improved overall cancer survival rates, but closed racial health disparities in cancer care outcomes, researchers reported at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting. Particularly, the healthcare delivery model—which included protocol to flag and address social determinants of health—improved cancer…
For MercyOne, digital social determinants of health screening was a clinician-led pursuit. When the Iowa-based hospital and clinic system began screening for social risk factors in 2017, its leaders were responding to pushes from providers who noted the role these factors play in overall patient health. “We’d heard from our providers that health-related social needs…
Person-centered care is a framework that healthcare payers and providers use to ensure care plans address the full spectrum of health-related needs that members face, including medical, behavioral, and social determinants of health (SDOH). In contrast to other models of care, a person-centered approach to care recognizes that each member deserves a care plan that…
Value-based care, the care delivery and reimbursement reform movement that emphasizes outcomes over volume of services rendered, could not be successful without strong and meaningful patient engagement. Defined by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services as programs that “reward health care providers with incentive payments for the quality of care they give to people with…
People living in rural America have lower incomes, less education, and are in poorer health than those living in other areas of the United States. For more than a century, these measures have been “sticky” with little change despite many efforts to do so. It is also well-known that most rural areas have a shortage of primary care and specialist physicians and lack of…
Dr Alex Ng discovered during his early medical career in a role as chief resident at the Middlemore hospital in New Zealand that he wanted to support those who are underprivileged. The hospital was a referral unit for tertiary and quaternary care for the South Pacific islands, which allowed him to witness the impact of…