Journal of Community Health

, Volume 43, Issue 1, pp 137–145 | Cite as

A Social Needs Assessment Tool for an Urban Latino Population

  • Beth A. Careyva
  • Roya Hamadani
  • Timothy Friel
  • Cathy A. Coyne
Original Paper
First Online:
  • 188 Downloads

Abstract

Unmet social needs contribute significantly to health outcomes, yet they are not routinely assessed in health care settings. Identifying modifiable social needs and feasible tools to assess them may improve health and decrease costs. We conducted 18 focus groups with 115 participants, stratified by age (18–35, 36–64, and 65+), ethnicity (Hispanic, non-Hispanic), and language (English, Spanish) to explore priority social needs, images to depict social need categories, and acceptability of a computer-based program to identify these needs. The top three social need domains were access to care, health promoting behaviors, and family responsibilities. Participants voiced diverse social needs with notable differences across demographic groups. Both the 36–64 year old age groups and Spanish-speaking Hispanic patients were disproportionately impacted by unmet social needs. Perceptions regarding use of an interactive computer program to assess social needs varied by age. Most participants noted that a tablet computer was an acceptable venue to share social needs, though a tutorial may be needed for patients in the 65 and older group. Lastly, participants’ ranking of icons were compiled to identify recognizable images of social need categories for those with literacy challenges. Unmet social needs were identified across all groups. This composite of information (priority social needs and images to represent them) will allow for creation of a tailored social need screening tool within an urban Hispanic population.

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Notes

Funding

This study was funded by the Anne and Carl Anderson Trust.

Compliance with Ethical Standards

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.University of South Florida Morsani School of MedicineTampaUSA
  2. 2.Department of Family Medicine, Lehigh Valley Practice and Community Research NetworkLehigh Valley Health NetworkAllentownUSA
  3. 3.Department of Community HealthLehigh Valley Health NetworkAllentownUSA
  4. 4.Department of MedicineLehigh Valley Health NetworkAllentownUSA

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