ON DEMAND 2024 APRN Midwest Conference - Seeing the Forest Beyond the Trees: Strategies for Addressing Social Determinants of Health in Busy Clinical Practice

With our growing diverse population in the state, disparities in health outcomes have become more profound. In our efforts to improve the quality of care for our patients and reduce disparities, clinicians often focus on implementing evidence-based practice guidelines in the medical management of our patients. Studies estimate that medical care is accountable for only 20% of overall health whereas social and environmental factors contribute to over 70% of health outcomes. While it is widely known that access to safe housing, transportation, food, utilities, education, employment, and social support plays a significant role in promoting health, these social factors are not consistently screened in a busy clinical setting due to time constraints. This session will present various frameworks and tools to begin screening for social determinants of health in patients across the lifespan and will provide resources to follow up on positive screens for social needs. Consistently screening for social determinants of health has the potential to identify and address significant barriers to health to reduce disparities in overall health outcomes for vulnerable populations.

• Assess and Identify Social Determinants of Health (SDOH): Equip healthcare providers with the ability to effectively assess and identify social determinants of health using validated screening tools, enhancing their understanding of how SDOH impact patient health and healthcare access.

• Integrate SDOH Screening into Clinical Practice: Train providers on methods to integrate systematic screening for SDOH into regular patient assessments, focusing on practical strategies that can be implemented in a busy clinical setting without sacrificing care quality.

• Utilize Resources and Referrals Effectively: Enable healthcare providers to effectively use screening results to guide referrals and interventions, ensuring that patients receive comprehensive support services that address identified social needs, thereby improving overall health outcomes.

Learning Outcome Evaluation: Participants will state one thing they learned from the program and how they will implement it into their practice. 

The Illinois Nurses Foundation and the Illinois Society for Advanced Practice Nursing jointly provided this program.

To earn contact hours, learners must watch the entire webinar and submit an evaluation to receive the digital certificate after the session.

There are no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies for those involved with the ability to control the content of this activity