Social determinants (e.g., conditions in which individuals are born, grow, work, live, and age) are seen as accounting for substantially more of the variation in health outcomes than medical care does while interest in addressing these determinants has increased markedly in recent years. According to a study reported in the February 2020 issue of the journal Health Affairs, the past decade has involved a growing recognition of the importance of social determinants of health for health outcomes. Meanwhile, the degree to which health systems in the U.S. are investing directly in community programs to address social determinants of health as opposed to screening and referral is uncertain.
Researchers conducting this investigation searched for all public announcements of new programs involving direct financial investments in social determinants of health by U.S. health systems from January 1, 2017, to November 30, 2019. They identified 78 unique programs involving 57 health systems that collectively included 917 hospitals. The programs involved at least $2.5 billion of health system funds, of which $1.6 billion in 52 programs was committed specifically to housing-focused interventions. Additional focus areas were employment (28 programs, $1.1 billion), education (14 programs, $476.4 million), food security (25 programs, $294.2 million), social and community context (13 programs, $253.1 million), and transportation (six programs, $32 million). These figures demonstrate that health systems are making sizable investments in social determinants of health. To cite one example, housing-related programs included strategies, such as direct building of affordable housing, often with a fraction set aside for homeless patients or those with high use of health care; funding for health system employees to purchase local homes to revitalize neighborhoods; and eviction prevention and housing stabilization programs.
More Articles from February 2020 TRENDS
GEOGRAPHIC INFLUENCE ON HEALTH DISPARITIES
Indicates how inhabitants of rural parts of the U.S. have poorer health outcomes than their urban counterparts and reduced access to health care resources. Read more
PRESIDENT’S CORNER
President Phyllis King discusses the newly revised ASAHP Strategic Plan. Read more
PULLING BACK THE CURTAIN
Depicts federal government funding initiatives revealed in the President’s 2020 State of the Union Address and in the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2021 Budget. Read More
HEALTH REFORM DEVELOPMENTS
Points out some challenges in financing the steady growth of health care costs and efforts to curb waste in the provision of services. Read More
DEVELOPMENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Describes a regulatory step by the federal government to address violations of free speech rights of students and a bipartisan proposal to reauthorize the Higher Education Act (ACE). Read More
QUICK STAT (SHORT, TIMELY, AND TOPICAL)
2020 Patient Data Breach Barometer
Self-Reported Marijuana Use In Electronic Cigarettes Among U.S. Youth
· Light-Adapted Electroretinogram Difference In Autism Spectrum Disorder
Evolving Magnetically Levitated Plasma Proteins Detect Opioid Use Disorder As A Model Disease Read More
AVAILABLE RESOURCES ACCESSIBLE ELECTRONICALLY
Clinical Prevention And Population Health Curriculum Framework
Precarious Work Schedules And Population Health
Quantification Of U.S. Neighborhood-Level Social Determinants Of Health Read More
THE ROAD TO IMMORTALITY IS PAVED WITH EPONYMS
Mentions historical trends in the production of health eponyms and views of a sample of neurology residents about the continued use of these naming devices. Read More
QUANTIFYING HEALTH SYSTEMS’ INVESTMENTS IN SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH
Refers to an investigation of the extent to which U.S. health systems are investing in housing-focused interventions, employment, education, food security, transportation, and social and community endeavors. Read More