Screening For Social Determinants Of Health In Routine Diabetes Care

Summary

Social determinants of health (SDOH) exert a powerful influence on the everyday management of type 1 diabetes (T1D) and short and long term outcomes of T1D. Experts agree that identifying and addressing negative social determinants of health (SDOH) may help accomplish numerous T1D care goals and promote health equity in treatment. However, fundamental research gaps in achieving these goals remain, including optimal screening and management processes for identification of negative social determinants of health (SDOH) , and how to develop robust partnerships with community-based organizations (CBOs) that address social determinants of health (SDOH) with high potential for sustainability and scalability. This project will generate new knowledge regarding how to implement a social work-led social determinants of health (SDOH) screening and referral program designed to aid families of youth with T1D who face several vulnerabilities, including food insecurity. The team will implement a single arm, pragmatic clinical trial with contemporaneous, non- randomized controls; whereby all families with a child enrolled in the California Children's Services (CCS) program (which provides specialized medical care for low-income families of youth with a qualifying chronic medical condition) will receive access to a novel social work-led social determinants of health (SDOH) screening and referral program.

Outcomes will be compared against youth with T1D who are also seen in our Westwood Pediatric Endocrinology clinic but who are not enrolled in the CCS program and will not receive access to the social determinants of health (SDOH) intervention. The study team has established partnerships with several community-based organizations (CBOs) across Los Angeles County that provide social services, including food-related services, to receive referrals for CCS families who screen positive for having a social need. The study team will assess the feasibility and acceptability of this screening and referral protocol among families, CBOs, and providers (Aim 1) by measuring key implementation outcomes (comprehensive documentation of social determinants of health (SDOH) screening, result, and referral in the patients' medical record) and acceptability outcomes (self-reported satisfaction with the program by families and barriers and facilitators by CBOs and providers). The team will additionally estimate the effect of this intervention (Aim 2) by measuring changes (pre/post intervention) in families reported social needs, diabetes-related quality of life, and in the child's glycemic control (measured by HbA1c). Results from this work can provide a roadmap for sustainable and scalable social determinants of health (SDOH) interventions with potential to improve outcomes for youth with T1D in an equity-informed manner.

Conditions

• Type 1 Diabetes

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Screening and Referral

This study is proposing a social work-led SDOH screening and intervention program. Social workers will screen patients/families for SDOH and respond based on the results of the screen. Patients/families identified as "low risk" (i.e., do not screen positive on the SDOH screener) will receive information about 1degree.org and phone follow-up two weeks after visit to see if there are any questions about the platform or any changes to their social circumstances that they wish to discuss with the social work team. Patients/families identified as "high risk" (i.e., screen positive on the SDOH screener) will receive the 1degree.org information sheet as well as receive specific agency referrals to our partner food bank organizations and two week phone follow-up to assess referral success; these patients/families will subsequently receive follow-up calls every two weeks until the referral is complete or the patient/family discloses that their identified food insecurity is resolved.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of California, Los Angeles

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Lauren Wisk, PhD · Lauren Wisk

Study Design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Max Age

21 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-09-30

Primary Completion

2028-09-30

Completion

2028-09-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations