scholarly journals Health-Predictive Social-Environmental Stressors and Social Buffers Are Place Based: A Multilevel Example From San Bernardino Communities

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 215013271983562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen N. Arthur ◽  
Synnøve F. Knutsen ◽  
Rhonda Spencer-Hwang ◽  
David Shavlik ◽  
Susanne Montgomery
Keyword(s):  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Interdisciplinary Collaboration ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Community Safety ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Race Ethnicity

Significant evidence demonstrates the powerful effects social determinants have on health-related perceptions, behaviors, and health outcomes. However, these factors are often studied out of context, despite the acknowledgement that social determinants of health are place based. This research aimed to demonstrate that health-related perceptions are dependent on where one lives. Via a community-based participatory study, participants were randomly selected from 3 residential regions varying distances from a freight railyard (nearest n = 300, middle n = 338, farthest n = 327), all mostly low-income, predominately Latino areas. Interview-administered surveys with adults were collected by bilingual trained community members (87% response) in English/Spanish. Adjusted-logistic regression models assessed residential region as a predictor of stressors (perceptions of community safety, community noise disturbance, health care access, food insecurity) and buffers (3 neighborhood cohesion variables), after adjusting for household income, race/ethnicity, gender, and age. Each region experienced a unique amalgam of stressors and buffers. In general, the region closest to the railyard experienced more stressors (odds ratio [OR] = 1.58; 95% CI 1.12-2.20) and less buffers (OR = 0.69; 95% CI 0.49-0.96) than the region furthest from the railyard. More than half of participants in each region reported 2 or more stressors and 2 or more buffers. In this seemingly homogenous study population, place remained important in spite of traditionally used socioeconomic factors, such as household income and race/ethnicity. Social determinants of health should be studied with regard to their environmental context, which will require interdisciplinary collaboration to improve multilevel research methods. Including the study of social buffers will also promote sustainable, positive change to reduce health disparities.

Informal Recyclers’ Health Inequities in Vancouver, BC

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 321-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josie Wittmer ◽  
Kate Parizeau
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Health ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Health Inequities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Access To Health ◽  
Health Related

We explore informal recyclers’ perceptions and experiences of the social determinants of health in Vancouver, Canada, and investigate the factors that contribute to the environmental health inequities they experience. Based on in-depth interviews with 40 informal recyclers and 7 key informants, we used a social determinants of health framework to detail the health threats that informal recyclers associated with their work and the factors that influenced their access to health-related resources and services. Our analysis reveals that the structural factors influencing environmental health inequities included insufficient government resources for low-income urbanites; the potential for stigma, clientization, and discrimination at some health and social service providers; and the legal marginalization of informal recycling and associated activities. We conclude that Vancouver's informal recyclers experience inequitable access to health-related resources and services, and they are knowledgeable observers of the factors that influence their own health and well-being.

scholarly journals Pushing poverty off limits: quality improvement and the architecture of healthcare values

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Polly Mitchell ◽  
Alan Cribb ◽  
Vikki Entwistle ◽  
Guddi Singh
Keyword(s):  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Social Deprivation ◽  
Ethical Dilemmas ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
The Social ◽  
Significant Burden ◽  
Health Related

Abstract Background Poverty and social deprivation have adverse effects on health outcomes and place a significant burden on healthcare systems. There are some actions that can be taken to tackle them from within healthcare institutions, but clinicians who seek to make frontline services more responsive to the social determinants of health and the social context of people’s lives can face a range of ethical challenges. We summarise and consider a case in which clinicians introduced a poverty screening initiative (PSI) into paediatric practice using the discourse and methodology of healthcare quality improvement (QI). Discussion Whilst suggesting that interventions like the PSI are a potentially valuable extension of clinical roles, which take advantage of the unique affordances of clinical settings, we argue that there is a tendency for such settings to continuously reproduce a narrower set of norms. We illustrate how the framing of an initiative as QI can help legitimate and secure funding for practical efforts to help address social ends from within clinical service, but also how it can constrain and disguise the value of this work. A combination of methodological emphases within QI and managerialism within healthcare institutions leads to the prioritisation, often implicitly, of a limited set of aims and governing values for healthcare. This can act as an obstacle to a genuine broadening of the clinical agenda, reinforcing norms of clinical practice that effectively push poverty ‘off limits.’ We set out the ethical dilemmas facing clinicians who seek to navigate this landscape in order to address poverty and the social determinants of health. Conclusions We suggest that reclaiming QI as a more deliberative tool that is sensitive to these ethical dilemmas can enable managers, clinicians and patients to pursue health-related values and ends, broadly conceived, as part of an expansive range of social and personal goods.

Using Community-Level Mental Health Surveillance Data to Examine the Relationship of Depression Prevalence to Social Determinants of Health and Access to Mental Health Services

2013 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn R. Currie ◽  
Kirsten Fiest ◽  
Lindsay Guyn
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Community Level ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Treatment Access ◽  
Depression Prevalence

The effect of social determinants of health on depression prevalence and treatment access was examined using community survey and administrative data on mental health service users in the Calgary Health Region (CHR). Consistent with national prevalence data, depression was significantly associated with female gender, younger age, and health risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, and obesity. The prevalence of depression causing interference in daily functioning across 19 social districts (subregions within the CHR) was significantly related to community-level indicators of single-parent status, low-income families, and low educational achievement in each district. Disparities in treatment access were also found with persons living in the most impoverished districts having the lowest rates of accessing professional mental health services.

scholarly journals Trends in the investigation of social determinants of health: selected themes and methods

2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 183-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Keller Celeste ◽  
João Luiz Bastos ◽  
Eduardo Faerstein
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Causal Diagrams ◽  
Pubmed Database ◽  
Race Ethnicity

We analyze bibliometric trends of topics relevant to the epidemiologic research of social determinants of health. A search of the PubMed database, covering the period 1985-2007, was performed for the topics: socioeconomic factors, sex, race/ethnicity, discrimination/prejudice, social capital/support, lifecourse, income inequality, stress, behavioral research, contextual effects, residential segregation, multilevel modeling, regression based indices to measure inequalities, and structural equation modeling/causal diagrams/path analysis. The absolute, but not the relative, frequency of publications increased for all themes. Total publications in PubMed increased 2.3 times, while the subsets of epidemiology/public health and social epidemiologic themes/methods increased by factors of 5.3 and 5.2, respectively. Only multilevel and contextual analyses had a growth over and above that observed for epidemiology/public health. We conclude that there is clearly room for wider use of established techniques, and for new methods to emerge when they satisfy theoretical needs.

scholarly journals Impact of Social Determinants of Health and Demographics on Refill Requests by Medicare Patients Using a Conversational Artificial Intelligence Text Messaging Solution: Cross-Sectional Study

10.2196/15771 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. e15771 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rena Brar Prayaga ◽  
Ridhika Agrawal ◽  
Benjamin Nguyen ◽  
Erwin W Jeong ◽  
Harmony K Noble ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Patient Population ◽  
Text Messaging ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Kaiser Permanente ◽  
Race Ethnicity

Background Nonadherence among patients with chronic disease continues to be a significant concern, and the use of text message refill reminders has been effective in improving adherence. However, questions remain about how differences in patient characteristics and demographics might influence the likelihood of refill using this channel. Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of an SMS-based refill reminder solution using conversational artificial intelligence (AI; an automated system that mimics human conversations) with a large Medicare patient population and to explore the association and impact of patient demographics (age, gender, race/ethnicity, language) and social determinants of health on successful engagement with the solution to improve refill adherence. Methods The study targeted 99,217 patients with chronic disease, median age of 71 years, for medication refill using the mPulse Mobile interactive SMS text messaging solution from December 2016 to February 2019. All patients were partially adherent or nonadherent Medicare Part D members of Kaiser Permanente, Southern California, a large integrated health plan. Patients received SMS reminders in English or Spanish and used simple numeric or text responses to validate their identity, view their medication, and complete a refill request. The refill requests were processed by Kaiser Permanente pharmacists and support staff, and refills were picked up at the pharmacy or mailed to patients. Descriptive statistics and predictive analytics were used to examine the patient population and their refill behavior. Qualitative text analysis was used to evaluate quality of conversational AI. Results Over the course of the study, 273,356 refill reminders requests were sent to 99,217 patients, resulting in 47,552 refill requests (17.40%). This was consistent with earlier pilot study findings. Of those who requested a refill, 54.81% (26,062/47,552) did so within 2 hours of the reminder. There was a strong inverse relationship (r10=−0.93) between social determinants of health and refill requests. Spanish speakers (5149/48,156, 10.69%) had significantly lower refill request rates compared with English speakers (42,389/225,060, 18.83%; X21 [n=273,216]=1829.2; P<.001). There were also significantly different rates of refill requests by age band (X26 [n=268,793]=1460.3; P<.001), with younger patients requesting refills at a higher rate. Finally, the vast majority (284,598/307,484, 92.23%) of patient responses were handled using conversational AI. Conclusions Multiple factors impacted refill request rates, including a strong association between social determinants of health and refill rates. The findings suggest that higher refill requests are linked to language, race/ethnicity, age, and social determinants of health, and that English speakers, whites, those younger than 75 years, and those with lower social determinants of health barriers are significantly more likely to request a refill via SMS. A neural network–based predictive model with an accuracy level of 78% was used to identify patients who might benefit from additional outreach to narrow identified gaps based on demographic and socioeconomic factors.

scholarly journals Social Determinants of Health in the lives of urinary catheter users

2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 1928-1933
Author(s):  
Beatriz Maria Jorge ◽  
Laís Fumincelli ◽  
Valtuir Duarte de Souza-Junior ◽  
Rodrigo Guimarães dos Santos Almeida ◽  
Alessandra Mazzo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Education ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Household Income ◽  
Urinary Catheter ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Rehabilitation Center ◽  
Urinary Catheters ◽  
Life Conditions ◽  
The Social

ABSTRACT Objective: To identify the influence of social determinants of health on the life conditions of patients who use intermittent urinary catheters. Method: This was a descriptive study conducted in a rehabilitation center with 243 neurogenic bladder patients who used clear intermittent urinary catheters. The study was carried out between March 2012 and October 2015, using interviews based on semi-structured instruments, and data analysis using descriptive statistics. Results: Most of the patients were men, between 16 and 64 years old, single, with an elementary education level, and a monthly household income of 2 to 3 minimum wages. The results show that the social determinants of health were related to socioeconomic, demographic, and health factors. Conclusion: The findings indicate a complex relationship between social determinants of health and the life conditions of patients who use clean intermittent urinary catheters, presenting greater vulnerability related to some aspects of health conditions.

scholarly journals Screening for poverty and intervening in a primary care setting: an acceptability and feasibility study

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 634-638
Author(s):  
Andrew D Pinto ◽  
Madeleine Bondy ◽  
Anne Rucchetto ◽  
John Ihnat ◽  
Adam Kaufman
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Financial Benefits ◽  
The Social

Abstract Background A movement is emerging to encourage health providers and health organizations to take action on the social determinants of health. However, few evidence-based interventions exist. Digital tools have not been examined in depth. Objective To assess the acceptability and feasibility of integrating, within routine primary care, screening for poverty and an online tool that helps identify financial benefits. Methods The setting was a Community Health Centre serving a large number of low-income individuals in Toronto, Canada. Physicians were encouraged to use the tool at every possible encounter during a 1-month period. A link to the tool was easily accessible, and reminder emails were circulated regularly. This mixed-methods study used a combination of pre-intervention and post-intervention surveys, focus groups and interviews. Results Thirteen physicians participated (81.25% of all) and represented a range of genders and years in practice. Physicians reported a strong awareness of the importance of identifying poverty as a health concern, but low confidence in their ability to address poverty. The tool was used with 63 patients over a 1-month period. Although screening and intervening on poverty is logistically challenging in regular workflows, online tools could assist patients and health providers identify financial benefits quickly. Future interventions should include more robust follow-up. Conclusions Our study contributes to the evidence based on addressing the social determinants of health in clinical settings. Future approaches could involve routine screening, engaging other members of the team in intervening and following up, and better integration with the electronic health record.

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