April 2017 Research Round-Up

Below is a list of recently published research related to integrating social and medical care. These can also be found in our Evidence Library.

Food insecurity screening in pediatric primary care: Can offering referrals help identify families in need?
C.J. Bottino, E.T. Rhodes, J.E. Cox, E.W. Fleegler
Academic Pediatrics
This study found that there was incomplete overlap between reporting food insecurity and selecting referrals for food insecurity resources among caregivers of 3- to 10-year old children. Half of those reporting food insecurity did not ask for referrals to resources and half of those who asked for referrals did not report food insecurity.

Feasibility and acceptability of a colocated homeless-tailored primary care clinic and emergency department
S. Gabrielian, J.C. Chen, P. Minhaj, et al.
Journal of Primary Care & Community Health
This study examined the feasibility and acceptability to providers of an initiative to identify homeless low-acuity ED patients and offer them treatment in a co-located homeless-tailored PCMH that integrates medical and social services. While 90% of the 32 surveyed providers supported expansion of the homeless-tailored PCMH, only half agreed with the homelessness screening procedures and only 40% thought the ED co-location worked well.

Improving access to evidence-based antipoverty government programs in the United States: A novel primary care initiative
M.K. Hole, L.E. Marcil, R.J. Vinci
JAMA Pediatrics
This commentary describes the development of a program for patients in pediatric primary care clinics in Boston that helps low income families benefit from the Earned Income Tax Credit, a refundable tax credit for working families that has been shown to improve child health over the long term.

Incorporating patients' social determinants of health into hypertension and depression care: A pilot randomized controlled trial
H.F. McClintock, H.R. Bogner
Community Mental Health Journal
This randomized controlled trial found that patients who received assistance identifying and developing a plan to address their most pressing health, social, and economic needs had improved depressive symptoms and blood pressure.

Bridging the divide: Supplementing payment reform to promote needed investments in population health
T. McGinnis
Academy Health Blog
The author identifies the need for supplementing payment reform efforts with incentives for population health and social determinants investments that can produce a longer-term return on investment and that benefit a broader population.

National Academy of Medicine social and behavioral measures: Associations with self-reported health
A.A. Prather, L.M. Gottlieb, N.B. Giuse, et al.
American Journal of Preventive Medicine
This study tested the convergent and divergent validity of the social and behavioral determinants of health measures recommended in a National Academy of Medicine report for use in electronic health records. Poorer physical and mental health were observed among participants reporting higher levels of financial resource strain, stress, depression, physical inactivity, current tobacco use, and intimate partner violence.

Ready, willing and able? A survey of clinicians' perceptions about domestic violence screening in a regional hospital emergency department
E. Saberi, N. Eather, S. Pascoe, M.L. McFadzean, F. Doran, M. Hutchinson
Australiasian Emergency Nursing Journal
In this survey of 76 ED clinicians in Australia, most supported screening for domestic violence (DV) but 80% reported not always feeling comfortable doing it and 89% felt they had received insufficient training. Lower perceived self-efficacy and fear of offending were statistically associated with discomfort or negative beliefs about DV enquiry.

Access to transportation and health care visits for Medicaid enrollees with diabetes
L.V. Thomas, K.R. Wedel, J.E. Christopher
Journal of Rural Health
In this retrospective analysis of data from the Oklahoma Medicaid program, patients who used Medicaid-provided non-emergency medical transportation had more diabetes care visits suggesting access to transportation enables improved diabetes care.