DNP Scholarly Project: Increasing Screening Rates for Social Needs in an Adult Behavioral Health Unit

Abstract

Abstract: This quality improvement (QI) project was centered on increasing the screening rate for social drivers of health (SDOH) within a 24-bed Adult Behavioral Health Unit (ABHU) located in an academic medical center (AMC). The SDOH screening encompassed five domains: food insecurity, housing instability, interpersonal safety, transportation needs, and utility difficulties. By implementing systematic strategies to enhance the capture of SDOH data, the project aimed to improve the identification and documentation of social factors impacting patient health. SDOH screenings were tracked for completeness over 18 weeks. Of the 311 patients who were eligible for the SDOH screening, 303 were screened across all domains, resulting in an overall screening rate of 97.43%. SDOH needs were identified in the five domains:(1) 25% screened positive for food insecurity; (2) 24% screened positive for housing instability; (3) 24% screened positive for interpersonal safety; (4) 21% screened positive for transportation needs; and (5) 16% screened positive for utility difficulties. These findings underscore the high prevalence of unmet social needs in the ABHU. Patients identified with positive screenings were provided with information on community resources. Future efforts should focus on measuring the impact of connecting patients to resources that address unmet social needs.