Post-Identification Approaches to Addressing Health-Related Social Needs in Primary Care: A Qualitative Study

Background Social determinants of health play a fundamental role in a patient’s health status. In recent years, health systems across the nation have implemented numerous strategies aimed at identifying and addressing the health-related social needs of the patients they serve. Despite the influx of peer-reviewed research highlighting outcomes of specific health-related social needs interventions, the spectrum of practices utilized by primary care clinics has not been established. Objective To determine the range of ways primary care clinics address health-related social needs after identification and initial contact with a frontline staff person is completed. Design We conducted 12 semi-structured, in-person interviews with staff from purposively sampled clinics. If the interview included more than one staff person, all participants were interviewed together. Participants Twenty-one administrative staff and frontline clinic personnel with experience in 24 separate primary care clinics in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota metropolitan area. Approach Interviews focused on the range of health-related social needs processes utilized by clinics, including staff titles, referral procedures, and barriers to addressing needs. Interview recordings were transcribed and coded using thematic analysis. Key Results Thematic analysis identified variation in four key areas involving how clinics address patients’ health-related social needs after identification and initial contact by frontline staff: clinic personnel involved in addressing needs, clinic referral processes, “resource” and “success” definitions, and barriers to accessing community-based supports. Conclusions This study describes the large variation in primary care clinic practices to address health-related social needs after they are identified. The results suggest challenges to standardization and real-world application of previously published studies. Our findings also highlight the opportunity for improved relationships between health systems and community-based agencies.