Applying Interventions to Address the Social Determinants of Health and Reduce Health Disparities in Congenital Heart Disease Patients

AbstractPurpose of ReviewCongenital heart disease (CHD) is associated with high expenditures, high complications, and the highest hospital readmissions among chronic pediatric diseases. Social determinants of health (SDOH) can further increase the burden of chronic disease on patients and families by reducing access to quality healthcare, safe neighborhoods, and healthy food. Strategies that seek to reduce disparities in the SDOH can have a positive impact on long term outcomes. This is particularly true for CHD patients where more adverse SDOH have been shown to have negative impact on patient outcomes. There is a need to determine if interventions focused on reducing disparities in SDOH utilized in other medical disciplines can be applied to pediatric cardiology. The purpose of our review is to determine how interventions implemented in other medical disciplines may be applied in pediatric cardiology populations to mitigate disparities in the SDOH.Recent FindingsThere are community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches and quality improvement (QI) initiatives that have been used to address disparities in the SDOH. Multi-disciplinary teams that incorporate community partners and have members dedicated to addressing out-of-hospital needs of patients have been trialed and successfully improved patient outcomes. These approaches focus on improving quality of care and mobilizing community resources to minimize access to care barriers. Patient and family empowerment and ...
Source: Current Cardiovascular Risk Reports - Category: Cardiology Source Type: research