Social Determinants of Health

Social Determinants of Health

ChristianaCare is committed to addressing social determinants of health as a part of a patient’s standard care. Several years ago, ChristianaCare formed a multidisciplinary group to create an evidence-based screening instrument to identify our patients’ social determinants of health (SDOH) that would be the sole SDOH screening instrument used throughout ChristianaCare. After development of that screening tool was completed, ChristianaCare began implementing this screening throughout the system. We are now moving to patient self-administration of this screening instrument through a new platform that allows patients to complete the screening on their own, rather than providing answers to a caregiver. Our expectation is that this technology platform will increase the number of SDOH screens completed, improve efficiency, and provide a better patient experience, as they may feel more comfortable entering answers to questions that can feel invasive. Importantly, coinciding with the systemwide expansion of the SDOH screening tool, ChristianaCare entered a partnership with Unite Us to support a care coordination network, Unite Delaware. If a patient has a social need, Unite Delaware can be utilized to address that need.

The Unite Delaware network connects social services and clinical care providers across the state. With this network, any healthcare provider or social service agency can help an individual address the diverse array of needs they may have. Since our partnership brought this network to Delaware in late 2019, two other Delaware hospitals have joined the network which now includes over 200 community-based organizations. This tool could revolutionize the way social service and healthcare organizations work together in Delaware and enables our community to take advantage of existing resources and identify areas that need additional resources or investment. Our expectation is that all Delawareans, even those that are not ChristianaCare patients, will benefit from this network. In May 2022, ChristianaCare also completed an integration of Unite Delaware into its medical health record to enable easier operability for providers to send a referral in a clinical setting. We believe that this tool, along with the increase in social determinants of health screenings, will ensure that our patients’ social needs are identified and addressed successfully. In the 2019-2021 CHIP, we reported that ChristianaCare was strategically investing in our community to support population health, health equity, improved health outcomes, and delivering value through high quality cost-effective care. In December 2019, ChristianaCare launched the Community Investment Fund with nearly $2 million in funding awarded to 32 community-based organizations to address the areas of need prioritized in the 2019 CHNA. While no funding was provided in fiscal year 2021 due to the financial uncertainly caused by the pandemic, in fiscal year 2022, 13 organizations received over $1 million in funding to 16