Effects of Social Needs Screening and In-Person Service Navigation on Child Health
Analytics, Health Equity & Access
Effects of Social Needs Screening and In-Person Service Navigation on Child Health
IMPORTANCE Social determinants of health shape both children’s immediate health and their lifetime risk for disease. Increasingly, pediatric health care organizations are intervening to address family social adversity. However, little evidence is available on the effectiveness of related interventions. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE To our knowledge, this investigation is the first randomized clinical trial to evaluate health outcomes of a pediatric social needs navigation program. Compared with an active control at 4 months after enrollment, the intervention significantly decreased families’ reports of social needs and significantly improved children’s overall health status as reported by caregivers. These findings support the feasibility and potential effect of addressing social needs in pediatric health care settings. Gottlieb et al., 2016.