Screening for poverty and related social determinants to improve knowledge of and links to resources (SPARK): development and cognitive testing of a tool for primary care
Abstract Background Healthcare organizations are increasingly exploring ways to address the social determinants of health. Accurate data on social determinants is essential to identify opportunities for action to improve health outcomes, to identify patterns of inequity, and to help evaluate the imp...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2023-11-01
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| Series: | BMC Primary Care |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-023-02173-8 |
| _version_ | 1797451959441031168 |
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| author | Itunuoluwa Adekoya Alannah Delahunty-Pike Dana Howse Leanne Kosowan Zita Seshie Eunice Abaga Jane Cooney Marjeiry Robinson Dorothy Senior Alexander Zsager Kris Aubrey-Bassler Mandi Irwin Lois Jackson Alan Katz Emily Marshall Nazeem Muhajarine Cory Neudorf Andrew D. Pinto |
| author_facet | Itunuoluwa Adekoya Alannah Delahunty-Pike Dana Howse Leanne Kosowan Zita Seshie Eunice Abaga Jane Cooney Marjeiry Robinson Dorothy Senior Alexander Zsager Kris Aubrey-Bassler Mandi Irwin Lois Jackson Alan Katz Emily Marshall Nazeem Muhajarine Cory Neudorf Andrew D. Pinto |
| author_sort | Itunuoluwa Adekoya |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Healthcare organizations are increasingly exploring ways to address the social determinants of health. Accurate data on social determinants is essential to identify opportunities for action to improve health outcomes, to identify patterns of inequity, and to help evaluate the impact of interventions. The objective of this study was to refine a standardized tool for the collection of social determinants data through cognitive testing. Methods An initial set of questions on social determinants for use in healthcare settings was developed by a collaboration of hospitals and a local public health organization in Toronto, Canada during 2011–2012. Subsequent research on how patients interpreted the questions, and how they performed in primary care and other settings led to revisions. We administered these questions and conducted in-depth cognitive interviews with all the participants, who were from Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Cognitive interviewing was used, with participants invited to verbalize thoughts and feelings as they read the questions. Interview notes were grouped thematically, and high frequency themes were addressed. Results Three hundred and seventy-five individuals responded to the study advertisements and 195 ultimately participated in the study. Although all interviews were conducted in English, participants were diverse. For many, the value of this information being collected in typical healthcare settings was unclear, and hence, we included descriptors for each question. In general, the questions were understood, but participants highlighted a number of ways the questions could be changed to be even clearer and more inclusive. For example, more response options were added to the question of sexual orientation and the “making ends meet” question was completely reworded in light of challenges to understand the informal phrasing cited by English as a Second Language (ESL) users of the tool. Conclusion In this work we have refined an initial set of 16 sociodemographic and social needs questions into a simple yet comprehensive 18-question tool. The changes were largely related to wording, rather than content. These questions require validation against accepted, standardized tools. Further work is required to enable community data governance, and to ensure implementation of the tool as well as the use of its data is successful in a range of organizations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:00:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4a468e1d61c4438496044e7c297cc77c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2731-4553 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:00:54Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Primary Care |
| spelling | doaj.art-4a468e1d61c4438496044e7c297cc77c2023-11-26T13:53:33ZengBMCBMC Primary Care2731-45532023-11-0124111210.1186/s12875-023-02173-8Screening for poverty and related social determinants to improve knowledge of and links to resources (SPARK): development and cognitive testing of a tool for primary careItunuoluwa Adekoya0Alannah Delahunty-Pike1Dana Howse2Leanne Kosowan3Zita Seshie4Eunice Abaga5Jane Cooney6Marjeiry Robinson7Dorothy Senior8Alexander Zsager9Kris Aubrey-Bassler10Mandi Irwin11Lois Jackson12Alan Katz13Emily Marshall14Nazeem Muhajarine15Cory Neudorf16Andrew D. Pinto17Upstream Lab, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Unity Health TorontoDepartment of Family Medicine, Dalhousie UniversityPrimary Healthcare Research Unit, Memorial University of Newfoundland and LabradorDepartment of Family Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of ManitobaDepartment of Community Health & Epidemiology, University of SaskatchewanUpstream Lab, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Unity Health TorontoUpstream Lab, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Unity Health TorontoUpstream Lab, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Unity Health TorontoUpstream Lab, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Unity Health TorontoUpstream Lab, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Unity Health TorontoPrimary Healthcare Research Unit, Memorial University of Newfoundland and LabradorDepartment of Family Medicine, Dalhousie UniversitySchool of Health and Human Performance, Dalhousie UniversityDepartment of Family Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of ManitobaDepartment of Family Medicine, Dalhousie UniversitySaskatchewan Population Health and Evaluation Research UnitSaskatchewan Population Health and Evaluation Research UnitUpstream Lab, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Unity Health TorontoAbstract Background Healthcare organizations are increasingly exploring ways to address the social determinants of health. Accurate data on social determinants is essential to identify opportunities for action to improve health outcomes, to identify patterns of inequity, and to help evaluate the impact of interventions. The objective of this study was to refine a standardized tool for the collection of social determinants data through cognitive testing. Methods An initial set of questions on social determinants for use in healthcare settings was developed by a collaboration of hospitals and a local public health organization in Toronto, Canada during 2011–2012. Subsequent research on how patients interpreted the questions, and how they performed in primary care and other settings led to revisions. We administered these questions and conducted in-depth cognitive interviews with all the participants, who were from Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Cognitive interviewing was used, with participants invited to verbalize thoughts and feelings as they read the questions. Interview notes were grouped thematically, and high frequency themes were addressed. Results Three hundred and seventy-five individuals responded to the study advertisements and 195 ultimately participated in the study. Although all interviews were conducted in English, participants were diverse. For many, the value of this information being collected in typical healthcare settings was unclear, and hence, we included descriptors for each question. In general, the questions were understood, but participants highlighted a number of ways the questions could be changed to be even clearer and more inclusive. For example, more response options were added to the question of sexual orientation and the “making ends meet” question was completely reworded in light of challenges to understand the informal phrasing cited by English as a Second Language (ESL) users of the tool. Conclusion In this work we have refined an initial set of 16 sociodemographic and social needs questions into a simple yet comprehensive 18-question tool. The changes were largely related to wording, rather than content. These questions require validation against accepted, standardized tools. Further work is required to enable community data governance, and to ensure implementation of the tool as well as the use of its data is successful in a range of organizations.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-023-02173-8Primary health careFamily medicineHealth equityHealthcare disparitiesMinority and vulnerable populationsSocioeconomic disparities in health |
| spellingShingle | Itunuoluwa Adekoya Alannah Delahunty-Pike Dana Howse Leanne Kosowan Zita Seshie Eunice Abaga Jane Cooney Marjeiry Robinson Dorothy Senior Alexander Zsager Kris Aubrey-Bassler Mandi Irwin Lois Jackson Alan Katz Emily Marshall Nazeem Muhajarine Cory Neudorf Andrew D. Pinto Screening for poverty and related social determinants to improve knowledge of and links to resources (SPARK): development and cognitive testing of a tool for primary care BMC Primary Care Primary health care Family medicine Health equity Healthcare disparities Minority and vulnerable populations Socioeconomic disparities in health |
| title | Screening for poverty and related social determinants to improve knowledge of and links to resources (SPARK): development and cognitive testing of a tool for primary care |
| title_full | Screening for poverty and related social determinants to improve knowledge of and links to resources (SPARK): development and cognitive testing of a tool for primary care |
| title_fullStr | Screening for poverty and related social determinants to improve knowledge of and links to resources (SPARK): development and cognitive testing of a tool for primary care |
| title_full_unstemmed | Screening for poverty and related social determinants to improve knowledge of and links to resources (SPARK): development and cognitive testing of a tool for primary care |
| title_short | Screening for poverty and related social determinants to improve knowledge of and links to resources (SPARK): development and cognitive testing of a tool for primary care |
| title_sort | screening for poverty and related social determinants to improve knowledge of and links to resources spark development and cognitive testing of a tool for primary care |
| topic | Primary health care Family medicine Health equity Healthcare disparities Minority and vulnerable populations Socioeconomic disparities in health |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-023-02173-8 |
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