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- Page navigation anchor for RE: Journal club discussion on " Implementation of Health-Related Social Needs Screening at Michigan Health Centers: A Qualitative Study"RE: Journal club discussion on " Implementation of Health-Related Social Needs Screening at Michigan Health Centers: A Qualitative Study"
The overall purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the variation in implementation of screening practices related to patients’ health-related social needs in federally qualified health centers (FQHC) in Michigan. Assessing social needs is essential because they can impact a patient’s ability to receive medical care and improve their health. The authors of the study stated the variation of screening practices is potentially due to geography, grants, state initiatives and community health worker (CHW) programs. This study delves into whether these factors impact the variation in screening practices.
The study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, a survey regarding the screening forms and practices used was sent to 23 FQHCs. The differences in screening between sites was explored further in 3 subsequent focus groups. Themes were identified, which contributed to the format of the semi-structured, qualitative interviews in phase 2. Twenty-three interviews were done at the five of the FQHC sites participating in this phase. The interviews were transcribed and four research team members reviewed two transcripts and identified themes for the codebook which was used to code the rest of the interviews.
The authors identified 4 themes related to social needs screening across the FQHC sites through descriptive analysis. The 1st theme was Variation in Screening Practices – the authors described statewide initiatives and local leadership as contrib...
Show MoreCompeting Interests: None declared.