Screening for Social Drivers of Health

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There is an increasing awareness of the importance of screening for social drivers of health (SDOH) for patients with cancer. Social drivers like income level and stable housing can impact a patient’s access to quality cancer care. To help multidisciplinary teams in oncology care screen for SDOH, ACCC has developed a screening tool to help identify potential SDOH factors that may hinder access to cancer treatment and clinical trial participation. In this episode, CANCER BUZZ speaks with Richard Martin III, MD, MPH, medical director of Health Equity and Community Engagement at Tennessee Oncology and Dana McDaniel, DNP, FNP-C, AOCNP, director of Oncology and Clinical Research at Mosaic Life Care about their experiences using the screening tool as part of ACCC’s pilot program.

“Everybody’s role with SDOH is different, but really, everyone has a role with SDOH assessment—taking the time to sit down with the patient, ask the questions, listen to them, and then connect them to the appropriate services so that we can tailor their care and ultimately improve quality.” - Dana McDaniel, DNP, FNP-C, AOCNP

 “Being able to capture data around patients’ interest [in clinical trials], their awareness and their barriers, and being able to cross reference those 3 things to better focus strategies around [trial] enrollment…that's just going to be gold as far as information to help you know where to go…and when that patient's ready, to help get them onto a trial.” – Richard Martin III, MD, MPH