"Because There's Experts That Do That": Lessons Learned by Health Care Organizations When Partnering with Community...

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Community Health
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Healthcare organizations increasingly partner with community-based organizations (CBOs) to address patients' social needs, such as food and housing insecurity.
• Limited research exists on the nature and structure of these crucial healthcare-CBO relationships.

Purpose of the Study:

• To understand the interaction dynamics between healthcare organizations and CBOs in implementing social care initiatives.
• To explore how different healthcare organizational goals shape their relationships with CBOs.

Main Methods:

• Conducted 33 semi-structured telephone interviews with administrators from 29 diverse healthcare organizations.
• Focused on the structure and goals of healthcare organizations' relationships with CBOs involved in social needs programming.

Main Results:

• 26 out of 29 healthcare organizations utilized CBOs for addressing patient social needs.
• Relationship intensity varied: one-way referrals required minimal interaction, contracted services needed leadership and staff engagement, and community-level work demanded extensive partnerships.
• Key recommendations for collaboration include early engagement, establishing shared purpose, defining leadership roles, and avoiding assumptions.

Conclusions:

• Healthcare organizations adapt the intensity of their relationships with CBOs according to specific social care objectives.
• Informal relationships with limited interaction are often sufficient for many healthcare-CBO activities.
• The study provides insights for optimizing healthcare-CBO partnerships to effectively address social determinants of health.