Social determinants of health: Guide to social needs screening

Non-medical social needs, or social determinants of health (SDOH), have a large influence on an individual’s health outcomes. For the medical community to have a significant and lasting impact on the health of their patients and communities, it must address the needs of patients outside the clinic walls. Effectively implementing programs to identify and attend to these social factors depends on the specific needs of the patient population, the ability of the practice to assess these needs, and the availability of community resources.

The AAFP is committed to helping you and your patients with a series of tools to use at the point of care by the practice team to quickly and efficiently screen your patients, act when needed, and link to community resources. All SDOH do not need to be addressed at one time, nor should this all be done by the family physician alone.

To help get you started, the AAFP is providing resources that you can customize to your individual practice, population, and community needs. These tools are intended to be useful to you and your practice team. However, we acknowledge that not all practices have access to the same level of community resources and support.