Self-efficacy and empathy development through interprofessional student hotspotting

In the United States, similar to other high-income countries, patients with complex health and social needs comprise a disproportionate amount of healthcare costs. Despite their frequent inpatient and emergency room usage, these patients receive ineffective care for their medical, social and behavioral needs, which often result from social determinants of health (SDoH). As the international dialogue on the importance of SDoH on health outcomes peaks, innovative strategies for teaching learners how to deliver care to patients with complex health and social needs has emerged as a top priority for health professions training programs. Student hotspotting, in which interprofessional student teams provide personalized, hands-on, intensive team-based interventions largely targeting the SDoH to patients with complex health and social needs, is one such program. We conducted a 7-month pilot study to explore whether students who participated in student hotspotting experienced an increase in their knowledge of, comfort working with, and empathy toward medically and socially complex patients. Preliminary results indicate that student participants exhibit greater self-efficacy and empathy than a control group of nonparticipating students, with the gap in the latter widening over time. While further study is warranted given limitations in the sample size and from attrition, this pilot study suggests that student hotspotting may be an effective way to better prepare our healthcare workforce to provide patient-centered, team-based care to patients with complex health and social needs and to reduce healthcare expenditures.