Patient Interest in Receiving Assistance with Self-Reported Social Risks

Objectives: This study evaluated how often patients who reported social risk factors requested assistance with these risks in an integrated health system. Methods: We examined how self-reports of risk related to stated desire for help with that risk reported during social risk screenings at Kaiser Permanente Northwest (KPNW). We examined how patient characteristics were associated with desire for help with each social risk domain using logistic regression. Results: Approximately 24% (n = 7,807) of the 32,865 KPNW members aged >= 18 years who were screened between June 1, 2017, and December 31, 2019, reported at least 1 social risk. More than half of patients who reported a risk were risk/help concordant (i.e., they also wanted help with that risk). The highest concordance (81.7%) was observed among patients reporting medical financial hardship. Several demographic, health, and other factors were associated with concordance across domains. Conclusions: Patients do not request assistance for all reported social needs. Our findings could help shape future work examining patients' reasons for not accepting assistance and developing interventions to help patients with high social risk more effectively. ( J Am Board Fam Med 2021;34:914-924.)

Automated summary

The study evaluated how often patients in an integrated health system requested assistance with reported social risk factors. It found that while many patients who reported risks also wanted help, not all patient requests aligned with their reported social needs. Concordance was highest among patients reporting medical financial hardship.