Provider impacts of socioeconomic risk screening and referral programs: A scoping review

Background: Initiatives to identify and intervene on patients' socioeconomic needs in the context of health care delivery are expanding. Little information has been compiled across studies on health care providers' knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors (KABB) regarding socioeconomic risk screening and referral interventions. Methods: We conducted a systematic scoping review of providers' KABB related to health care–based socioeconomic risk screening and referral interventions using several search engines. Included studies assessed health care providers' KABB about screening and interventions conducted in clinical settings. Results: Of 14,757 studies evaluated, 53 were eligible for inclusion. Study designs were heterogeneous. Outcome measures included attitudes and beliefs (n = 42), provider behaviors (n = 35), and provider knowledge (n = 26). The majority of providers expressed positive attitudes toward addressing patients' socioeconomic risks. Participants endorsed concerns regarding insufficient knowledge and resources, time and workflow disruption, and potential negative impacts of screening and referral programs on relationships. Exposure to screening and referral programs led to increases in providers' positive attitudes, socioeconomic risk screening rates, and reported knowledge about intervention options. Conclusions: Participation in screening and referral programs seems to influence providers' perception of implementation barriers. Future research should explore providers' concerns about addressing identified risks.

A SIREN produced issue brief based upon this study can be found here.