J Am Board Fam Med
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Multicenter Study
Building a Foundation to Reduce Health Inequities: Routine Collection of Sociodemographic Data in Primary Care.
Detailed data on social determinants of health can facilitate the identification of inequities in access to health care. We report on a sociodemographic data collection tool used in a family medicine clinic. ⋯ Collecting data on social determinants of health through a self-administered survey, and linking them to a patient's chart, is feasible and acceptable. A modified survey is now administered to all patients. Such data are already being used to identify health inequities, develop novel interventions, and evaluate their impact on health outcomes.
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The goal of this study was to assess perspectives of racially/ethnically diverse, low-income pregnant women on how doula services (nonmedical maternal support) may influence the outcomes of pregnancy and childbirth. ⋯ Access to doula services for pregnant women who are at risk of poor birth outcomes may help to disrupt the pervasive influence of social determinants as predisposing factors for health during pregnancy and childbirth.
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Primary care offices are integrating behavioral health (BH) clinicians into their practices. Implementing such a change is complex, difficult, and time consuming. Lean workflow analysis may be an efficient, effective, and acceptable method for use during integration. The objectives of this study were to observe BH integration into primary care and to measure its impact. ⋯ This pilot integration of BH showed significant improvements in treatment initiation and other measures. Strengths of Lean analysis included workflow improvement, system perspective, and project success. Further evaluation is indicated.