Assessing Social Circumstances in Primary Care: Expert Consensus via Delphi Technique

Area of Science:

• Social Determinants of Health
• Primary Care Research
• Health Equity

Background:

• No scientifically validated tool existed in Japan for screening patients' social circumstances in primary care.
• Assessing health-related social circumstances is crucial for comprehensive patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a consensus-based set of questions for screening patients' social circumstances in Japanese primary care.
• To address the need for a scientifically developed tool to assess social determinants of health.

Main Methods:

• A Delphi technique was employed with a diverse expert panel, including clinicians, researchers, and patients.
• Multiple online communication rounds were conducted to gather and confirm themes related to social circumstances.

Main Results:

• Sixty-one experts participated, reaching consensus on six key themes: economic condition/employment, access to services, daily life/leisure, physiological needs, tools/technology, and life history.
• The importance of respecting patient preferences and values was highlighted.

Conclusions:

• A novel questionnaire, HEALTH+P (Health-related circumstances, Economic condition, Access, Living, Tools, Total physiological needs, and Patient's life history), was developed.
• Further research is needed to evaluate the clinical feasibility and impact of HEALTH+P on patient outcomes.