Systematic Identification of Unmet Needs and Referral to Physician Help at an Australian Hospital

Systematic integration of unmet social needs screening and referral into routine clinical care can help improve clinicians’ understanding of patient’s social determinants of health (SDH) and address health disparities. This is critical to ensure optimal care of children with chronic and complex health conditions. This quality improvement project was piloted at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead to standardise screening of SDH concerns using a modified validated tool (WECARE survey). Between July 2022 to September 2022, the prototype was tested for 12-weeks in a paediatric rehabilitation clinic. Parents/caregivers of children with cerebral palsy attending the clinic for a face-to-face appointment were approached by project staff (KO) and asked to complete the unmet social needs screening form in the waiting room. A total of 105 (83%) of 127 approached families completed and returned the form. Of those returned, 65% reported at least one unmet need, with 23% of respondents identifying 3 or more. Transport was the most commonly identified (53%) and food insecurity the least common (18%). 97% of respondents felt comfortable answering these questions about unmet social needs. Of families who identified at least one unmet need, (n=) l74% requested follow-up to discuss unmet needs. This quality improvement project was a trial for, and provided valuable information to support a larger scale feasibility and acceptability randomised control trial which will focus on systematically screening families before randomising them to receive assistance by a community linker or resource pack

Focus group · Health care · Identification (biology · Needs assessment · Quality (philosophy · Quality management · Referral · Scale (ratio · Cerebral Palsy and Movement Disorders · Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations · Healthcare Policy and Management · Rehabilitation