Doctors Want to Address Social Factors Affecting Health

A recent survey of doctors finds that they are well-aware of the impact of social needs on their patients’ health.  The survey of 1,000 primary care physicians and pediatricians was conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

More than 4 in 5 of the surveyed doctors agree that unmet social needs are directly leading to worse health and that patients’ social needs are as important to address as their medical conditions.

However, 80% of these doctors are not confident in their capacity to address their patients’ social needs, which impedes their ability to provide quality care.  Physicians wish they could write prescriptions for health-promoting services such as fitness programs, nutritious food, and transportation assistance.

Based on these data, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation published Health Care’s Blind Side:  The Overlooked Connection Between Social Needs and Good Health.  This report concludes with three strong recommendations:

Recognize that social needs are connected to Americans’ health.
Equip physicians and other health care practitioners with the resources they need to make patients healthy.
Rethink the health care system to address unmet social needs.

More good discussion of these issues can be found in this blog post by Dr. Douglas Jutte, a professor at University of California Berkeley’s School of Public Health.  He recounts the story of a patient whose, “long-term health and well being…hinged not on the quality of my medical care but on a taxi voucher and a broken carburetor.”  He also has a number of recommendations, such as reimbursing providers for these non-medical interventions that improve health and more appropriate training of doctors in medical schools.

As Dr. Jutte points out, some people are surprised by the survey results showing doctors’ awareness of the importance of social factors in health.  The survey shows that doctors are concerned about social factors, now we need the systems around them to support their efforts to improve their patients’ health.

 



20 Comments:

Posted by neo on May 8th, 2013 at 09:23 AM

The social needs are influencing a lot the people`s health. Maybe the hospital administrators should find a way and to implement a program in order to help the people with this kind of problems.

Posted by mike on March 24th, 2013 at 06:42 AM

The social needs could have an important effect upon patient`s health. The doctors and the nurses have an important role and they should prevent these factors. If you choose to have careers that care for people like being a doctor you have to do everything you can for the others.

Posted by caracola213 on March 9th, 2013 at 04:23 AM

Social factor do influence a lot the health status of a person, especially the psychological one. I have an example of my own: my niece has gone through stressful periods when she was a teenager just because people kept saying that she didn’t have healthy hair. And because of this stress, she had struggled with eating disorder for 5 years. Thank God she’s fine now.

Posted by Dean Swin on February 25th, 2013 at 11:34 AM

Troubles always can be found anywhere, from an winter carnival to a summer estival, but this can’t make the doctors to do their job. And with the social life begins all.

Posted by mihai on February 5th, 2013 at 11:59 PM

I think it is great that medical services pay attention at social factor too. The poverty and other social factors affect people`s health and it is important to take care of this aspect too.

Posted by nick on January 24th, 2013 at 01:20 PM

I agree. The social needs are affecting our health. I am a clinical nurse and I know how much this aspect is influencing our health

Posted by Rania Mayers on January 24th, 2013 at 12:00 PM

This is a great and interesting post!As a doctor I am aware of how these factors can influence our health and we should try to prevent diseases.One of the major problems in nowadays society is obesity.There are a lot of people who eat junk food and drink soda and it is very important to make them understand what a healthy lifestyle means.I’ve recently bought a frozen yogurt machine and I am preparing different yoghurt drinks every morning as they are tasty and have a lot of vitamins.

Posted by leonardo85 on January 10th, 2013 at 03:26 AM

It is a fact that our health gets affected by different issues. If we indeed plan a fitness routine for ourselves then we could stay fit and healthy. A nutritious diet is must along with it you might need health supplements. Buying health supplements is simple if you buy these online. Ordering with Confidence is possible if you approach the right supplier.

Posted by anton on January 2nd, 2013 at 10:04 AM

The fitness programs, nutritious food, and transportation assistance exist but I don`t think that all the people know about them. The medical system should do something about it, because it can prevent the diseases easier with all kind of programs. I heard that it is recommended to have even a colon cleanse procedure from time to time in order to prevent the colon cancer.

10  Posted by Archive on October 29th, 2012 at 10:50 PM

As i fantasy basketball expert i must say that social factors are really doing their job when it comes to people’s health. Even though we have much more than we had a few decades ago, we are feeling less and less of ourselves and this is a fact. I think that we should return to basics in order to have a good mind and a good soul.

11  Posted by naveed on October 19th, 2012 at 01:22 PM

I have a healthcare administration degree and I have studied this problem lot of time. While it is clear that people who live in deprived areas suffer from greater health problems, it is not always clear whether those areas are the cause of the problems or if ill health has caused the fall of some into poverty. Those who suffer from mental or physical disabilities earn on average a fraction of the amount able-bodied citizens can command at work. As a result, in some cases illness leads to poverty rather than vice versa.

12  Posted by aniie on October 19th, 2012 at 01:11 PM

Healthcare management and administration researches have shown that a number of socio-economic factors may impact a person’s health. As would be expected, those who live in poorer communities often suffer from greater ill health and shorter life expectancies. People who live in deprived areas are often without access to the best healthcare and struggle to prevent illness more than those in richer communities. This lack of prevention stems from the poorer education often received in deprived areas and the culture that often pervades within them.

13  Posted by Ipate on October 8th, 2012 at 05:23 AM

I think that social factors have something to do with our century’s diseases too, if you don’t believe me then contact Joel H. Schwartz, P.C. and ask him, he’ll tell you the same thing. I think that stress and over thinking can really harm our brain and body, not to mention our soul.

14  Posted by Vanya on October 6th, 2012 at 07:41 AM

I must say that i agree with the fact that stress is this century’s disease. Doctors can actually put this in your prescription. Although stress is a state of mind, imagine how easy people would heal themselves if they would put their mind to work. Now you can easily get a nighthawk radiology but in the future?

15  Posted by marin on October 2nd, 2012 at 12:29 PM

I`ve got a public health degree so I know what impact it has all this upon our health.I think that the doctors should try to promote a healthy life style that could prevent the diseases.

16  Posted by Mihai on September 22nd, 2012 at 07:58 AM

I developed through the years a public safety career for which i have worked a lot when i was younger and i can say for sure that society isn’t always the main factor of our diseases. I think that only weak people can get affected by this.

17  Posted by Shines on September 21st, 2012 at 05:03 AM

I think that healthcare has made a strange turn these days. i think that modern days are really twisted and all the factors that we could have fought in the past are gone. I can’t believe that social factors are destroying our health.

18  Posted by David Lader Tucson on July 21st, 2012 at 06:47 AM

I think it’s all about the education from school… It’s easier to be taught how you should do than how you shouldn’t do anymore… Sports should be more encouraged in school to prevent the obesity…

19  Posted by Sibiescu on July 18th, 2012 at 12:50 AM

Well of course that lifestyle is the main factor for all the bad things that are happening to our health.Not even our forehead pimples appear from nowhere.I’m glad that finally someone narrowed down what’s wrong with nowadays children and grown-ups.

20  Posted by oryanne on February 27th, 2012 at 09:40 AM

As a master public administration final year student, I must say I pay all due respect to all kinds of raising awareness campaigns on health issues authorities may have initiatives upon. I once had a project to make for class regarding the harmful factors in people`s daily diets and I must say I reached the same conclusions by doing tons of research through medical studies.




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