WIP 51 - Implementation of a health-related social needs screener in pediatric cardiology fellows' clinics as a health equity educational tool

Publication Number: WIP 51.7439

Karina Javalkar, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; Leanne Duhaney, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; Larissa M. Wenren, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, United States; Colleen Huysman, bosto, Boston, MA, United States; Meghan F. Sullivan, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; Alyssa M. Powell, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; Kaylah Brown, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; Kassandra Enriquez, Boston Children's Hospital, Waltham, MA, United States; Elizabeth D. Blume, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; Sarah D.. de Ferranti, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; Susan Saleeb, Children's Hospital Boston (Boston, MA), Boston, MA, United States

Background: Social determinants of health (SDOH) affect patient outcomes in pediatric cardiology. In Fall 2023, a SDOH screening tool was implemented by 3 fellows, followed by select attendings and additional fellows on a voluntary basis in our institution’s pediatric cardiology clinic. As a quality improvement (QI) effort, we measured patients’ SDOH needs and provided need-specific informational resource sheets, placed non-urgent social work referrals, or arranged in-person social work consultation for urgent needs.

Objective: Some literature on enhancing equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) education suggests that engaging trainees in QI efforts to identify and respond to health equity challenges may be a meaningful educational tool while also providing more robust support to patients. However, no literature to date examines this as a tool in pediatric graduate medical education. The aim of this study is to determine whether systematic incorporation of a SDOH screening tool in fellows’ cardiology clinic enhances fellow EDI education.

Design/Methods: This study was exempt by the Boston Children’s Hospital Institutional Review Board. Beginning in Academic Year 2024-2025, pediatric cardiology fellows were asked to implement the SDOH screening tool in their assigned outpatient clinics. We conducted in-person education sessions and emailed instructions to fellows outlining the process and guidelines for implementation. A REDCap survey was distributed to fellows for feedback about the feasibility, facilitators, and challenges of implementing the screener and to understand perceptions of EDI education as a result of the screener. This survey was distributed in October 2024, and will be repeated in early March 2025 to assess for changes in responses. Early results demonstrated that half of respondents had begun implementation of the SDOH screener in their clinics, and half felt that the project enhanced their EDI education. Efforts to promote implementation in fellow clinics are planned. Complete data are expected to be collected and analyzed by the end of March 2025.