Evaluating the association of social needs assessment data with cardiometabolic health status in a federally qualified community health center patient population

BMC Cardiovasc Disord. 2021 Jul 14;21(1):342. doi: 10.1186/s12872-021-02149-5.

Abstract

Background: Health systems are increasingly using standardized social needs screening and response protocols including the Protocol for Responding to and Assessing Patients' Risks, Assets, and Experiences (PRAPARE) to improve population health and equity; despite established relationships between the social determinants of health and health outcomes, little is known about the associations between standardized social needs assessment information and patients' clinical condition.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we examined the relationship between social needs screening assessment data and measures of cardiometabolic clinical health from electronic health records data using two modelling approaches: a backward stepwise logistic regression and a least absolute selection and shrinkage operation (LASSO) logistic regression. Primary outcomes were dichotomized cardiometabolic measures related to obesity, hypertension, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) 10-year risk. Nested models were built to evaluate the utility of social needs assessment data from PRAPARE for risk prediction, stratification, and population health management.

Results: Social needs related to lack of housing, unemployment, stress, access to medicine or health care, and inability to afford phone service were consistently associated with cardiometabolic risk across models. Model fit, as measured by the c-statistic, was poor for predicting obesity (logistic = 0.586; LASSO = 0.587), moderate for stage 1 hypertension (logistic = 0.703; LASSO = 0.688), and high for borderline ASCVD risk (logistic = 0.954; LASSO = 0.950).

Conclusions: Associations between social needs assessment data and clinical outcomes vary by cardiometabolic condition. Social needs assessment data may be useful for prospectively identifying patients at heightened cardiometabolic risk; however, there are limits to the utility of social needs data for improving predictive performance.

Keywords: Electronic health record; Predictive analytics; Primary care; Social determinants of health; Social needs.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Atherosclerosis / epidemiology
  • Atherosclerosis / therapy
  • Cardiometabolic Risk Factors
  • Cardiovascular Diseases / diagnosis
  • Cardiovascular Diseases / epidemiology
  • Cardiovascular Diseases / therapy*
  • Community Health Services*
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Electronic Health Records
  • Female
  • Health Services Needs and Demand*
  • Humans
  • Hypertension / epidemiology
  • Hypertension / therapy
  • Male
  • Medical Assistance
  • Metabolic Syndrome / diagnosis
  • Metabolic Syndrome / epidemiology
  • Metabolic Syndrome / therapy*
  • Middle Aged
  • Needs Assessment*
  • Obesity / epidemiology
  • Obesity / therapy
  • Primary Health Care*
  • Prognosis
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Risk Assessment
  • Social Determinants of Health*
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Time Factors
  • United States / epidemiology