Advisory Committee Chair
David Becker
Document Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
2024
Degree Name by School
Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) School of Public Health
Abstract
There is a growing recognition among hospitals, payers, and policymakers in the United States that addressing social needs of patients is important to improving quality of care, patient outcomes, and lowering health care spending. Accountable care organizations (ACOs) may be especially incentivized to address social needs of patients to meet population health goals related to patient outcomes and costs. This cross-sectional study used data from the American Hospital Association Annual Survey to explore to explore how hospitals participating in or leading ACOs are screening for and addressing individual-level HRSNs of patients and to understand the extent to which ACOs are collaborating with external partners to address HRSNs and community-level SDOH. Overall, this study found hospitals participating in or leading ACOs reported higher rates of external partnerships to address social needs of patients and community level SDOH compared to non-ACO hospitals, which suggests hospitals participating in ACOs seek external partners with expertise or resources to address social needs of their patients. However, only hospitals leading ACOs reported engaging in higher rates of screening and internal strategies compared to non-ACO hospitals. This nuanced finding suggests hospitals leading ACOs may be better positioned to engage in these activities due to existing population health management infrastructure and financial incentives to meet ACO goals.
Recommended Citation
Lee, Heather, "Screening For And Addressing Social Determinants Of Health In Hospitals Participating In Accountable Care Organizations" (2024). All ETDs from UAB. 3858.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/3858