A family-centered approach to social needs awareness in the pediatric emergency department

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to understand family preferences around reporting and receiving health-related social needs (HRSN) information by assessment modality during pediatric emergency department (PED) visits. 

METHODS: Families were randomized into paper (control), cell phone, or tablet modality groups by their child's exam room. Nurses alerted families to complete a single HRSN assessment during routine workflow. We used logistic regression and McNemar's test to assess discordance in modality preference. 

RESULTS: Forty-seven percent of families disclosed at least one HRSN across a total 611 assessments. Disclosure of HRSN was similar by modality. Twenty-three percent of those assigned tablet preferred cell phone (p < 0.001). Two-thirds of families preferred receiving digitally formatted community resources (email or text). There was no difference in preferred timing of HRSN assessment completion. 

CONCLUSIONS: Assessment modality did not appear to influence family HRSN disclosure. Families were generally satisfied with all HRSN assessment modalities but demonstrated a particular preference in using personal cell phones over tablets. Digitally formatted community referrals also pose numerous advantages over conventional paper handouts. 

INNOVATION: Use of personal cell phones is a novel, streamlined method of HRSN interventions in the clinical setting, performing similar to more conventional modalities, with a preference among families when compared to tablets.