Abstract
Addressing primary care patients’ health-related social needs at integrated academic health system in Rhode Island
APHA 2025 Annual Meeting and Expo
Methods: C4H manages client caseloads on the Unite Us digital platform. De-identified, cross-sectional data from October 1, 2021 to August 31, 2024 was extracted from Unite Us. We conducted descriptive analysis and developed a logistic regression model to identify high and low-resolution social needs.
Results: C4H completed intake of 1,510 unique clients involving 4,206 unique cases with an average of 3.17 cases per client served. The most prevalent HRSN included individual & family support (22%), housing & shelter (18%), physical health (16%), food assistance (12%), and clothing & household goods (12%). Of all cases, nearly 40% were resolved, with the rest equally split between unresolved and open (pending). Several social needs had significantly improved odds of resolution including food assistance (OR 2.86 [1.90, 4.32], p <0.001), clothing & household goods (OR 2.28 [1.51, 3.45], p <0.001), and utilities (OR 2.73 [1.74, 4.28], p <0.001) while mental/behavioral health needs had significantly lower likelihood of resolution (OR 0.28 [0.11, 0.72], p = 0.008). Referred cases (46% of total cases) had significantly lower odds of being resolved compared to cases managed internally (OR 0.38 [0.34–0.44], p <0.001).
Conclusion: C4H provides critical social care for patients in RI. Future efforts should be focused on enhancing access to more complex social care at the point-of-care.
Clinical medicine applied in public health Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs Provision of health care to the public Public health administration or related administration Public health or related research