scholarly journals Social Determinants of Health in Maternity Care: A Quality Improvement Project for Food Insecurity Screening and Health Care Provider Referral

Health Equity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 606-611
Author(s):  
Chelsea D. Fitzhugh ◽  
Marina Stranieri Pearsall ◽  
Kristin P. Tully ◽  
Alison M. Stuebe
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Health Care Provider ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Care Provider ◽  
Maternity Care ◽  
Quality Improvement Project ◽  
Improvement Project

scholarly journals Impact of COVID-19 on social determinants of health for adults with cystic fibrosis

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 175346662110374
Author(s):  
Dana Albon ◽  
Heather Bruschwein ◽  
Morgan Soper ◽  
Rhonda List ◽  
Deirdre Jennings ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Cystic Fibrosis ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Care Utilization ◽  
Health Questionnaire ◽  
Improvement Project ◽  
The Impact

Introduction: Outcomes in cystic fibrosis are influenced by multiple factors, including social determinants of health. Low socioeconomic status has been shown to be associated with lung function decline, increased exacerbation rates, increased health care utilization, and decreased survival in cystic fibrosis. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the US economy, placing people with cystic fibrosis at risk for negative impacts due to changes in social determinants of health. Methods: To characterize the impact of COVID-19-related changes in social determinants of health in the adult cystic fibrosis population, a social determinants of health questionnaire was designed and distributed to patients as part of a quality improvement project. Results: Of 132 patients contacted, 76 (57.6%) responses were received. Of these responses, 22 (28.9%) answered yes to at least one question that indicated an undesired change in social determinants of health. Patients with stable employment prior to COVID-19 were more likely to endorse undesired change in all domains of the questionnaire, and the undesired changes were most likely to be related to employment, insurance security, and access to medications. Patients receiving disability were more likely to report hardship related to utilities and food security compared with patients previously employed or unemployed. Of patients endorsing risk of socioeconomic hardship, 21 (95.5%) were contacted by a social worker and provided resources. Conclusion: Utilizing a social determinants of health questionnaire to screen for social instability in the context of COVID-19 is feasible and beneficial for patients with cystic fibrosis. Identifying social issues early during the pandemic and implementing processes to provide resources may help patients with cystic fibrosis mitigate social hardship and maintain access to health care and medications.

scholarly journals Midwives' evaluation of their role in crowdsourcing activities to improve the maternity experience: part 1

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 368-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam Frewin ◽  
Sarah Church
Keyword(s):  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Maternity Care ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Service Evaluation ◽  
Quality Improvement Project ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Improvement Project ◽  
Maternity Services ◽  
Creative Solutions ◽  
Evaluation Project

This is the first of two articles introducing crowdsourcing as a tool that offers creative solutions to address everyday challenges in maternity care. In this first article, crowdsourcing is defined and discussed, demonstrating how it can be used to discover many relatively low-cost ideas to improve maternity services. By engaging service users in crowdsourcing activities, quality improvement is shared and focused on issues that emerge from practice. This process has the potential to generate more innovative ways to improve maternity services and women's experiences of care. In the second article, the discussion will centre on a service evaluation project that studied midwives' involvement in a workshop as part of a quality improvement project.

scholarly journals Appropriate Use Criteria in Echocardiography: An Observational Institutional Study with the Perspective of a Quality Improvement Project

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. CMC.S36504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Rameh ◽  
Antoine Kossaify
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Clinical Outcome ◽  
Quality Improvement Project ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Appropriate Use Criteria ◽  
Appropriate Use ◽  
Improvement Project ◽  
Health Care Resources ◽  
Set Up

Background Appropriate use criteria (AUC) in echocardiography are essential tools for aligning the indications of echocardiography with the best clinical standards, improving clinical outcome, restraining abuse, and preserving health-care resources. Objectives The aim of this study was to ascertain the AUC for transthoracic echocardiography in a university hospital and create a quality improvement project (QIP). Methods The assessment of 501 inpatients who received transthoracic cardiac echo was conducted according to the 2011 AUC report. Indications were classified as appropriate, uncertain, or inappropriate, and patients not matching any of the abovementioned divisions were grouped in the nonfitting category. Results Of the 501 eligible patients, 374 patients (74.66%) were in the appropriate group, 85 patients (16.96%) in the inappropriate group, 20 patients (3.99%) in the uncertain group, and 22 patients (4.39%) in the nonfitting category. Discussion Interpretation and analysis of the obtained results are presented, along with the results of many comparable studies; moreover, a QIP was set up accordingly. Conclusion AUC are useful to assess local practice, preserve health-care resources, and improve clinical outcome.

scholarly journals Food access initiatives: An integral piece of the Revere, Massachusetts, COVID-19 response

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Molly Babbin ◽  
Rachel Zack ◽  
Jean Granick ◽  
Kathleen Betts
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Food Access ◽  
Community Health Care ◽  
Healthy Foods ◽  
The Social ◽  
The City ◽  
Community Health Care System

Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) is a community health care system that serves the region north of Boston, including the city of Revere, Massachu­setts. In an effort to confront the root causes of poor health, CHA has engaged in an initiative to address the social determinants of health, including food insecurity, homelessness, and unemployment. In 2017, we learned that 51% of our patients in Revere screened positive for food insecurity. In response, we committed to increasing our patients’ access to healthy foods.

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