Improving social needs screening in general paediatrics through project SEEK

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Healthcare
• Public Health
• Quality Improvement Science

Background:

• Unmet social needs in pediatric patients negatively impact health outcomes and increase healthcare utilization.
• Effective screening for social determinants of health (SDoH) is crucial for identifying and addressing these needs in children.
• Current screening processes often lack family acceptance and comprehensive domain coverage.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance the identification of unmet social needs in pediatric patients admitted to general pediatrics.
• To develop a family-acceptable screening process for social determinants of health (SDoH).
• To increase the documented SDoH screening rate across four key domains (food insecurity, transportation, housing, financial strain) from 0% to 60%.

Main Methods:

• A multidisciplinary quality improvement project was conducted from September 2021 to September 2024.
• Interventions included nursing education, feedback, provision of meal trays, and EHR integration of the screening questionnaire.
• A pilot group (n=22) assessed the acceptability of the screening process with patients and families.

Main Results:

• Screening was found to be acceptable by a pilot group of patients and families.
• Documented SDoH screening rates increased from 0% to 56.7% among 4229 eligible patients.
• Screening for food insecurity showed a positive correlation with SDoH screening across all four domains.

Conclusions:

• The implemented SDoH screening process was acceptable to pediatric patients and families.
• This quality improvement initiative successfully increased the rate of SDoH screening and identification of unmet needs.
• Providing tangible resources, like meal trays, was a valuable component in supporting families and reducing screener distress.