“Engaging stakeholders in integrating social determinants of health into electronic health records: a scoping review”

• Published in: International Journal of Circumpolar Health
• Main Authors: Kyle Wark, Karen Cheung, Erika Wolter, Jaedon P. Avey
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2021
• Subjects: social determinants of health; electronic health records; stakeholder engagement; culturally competent care; american indian and alaska native people; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic; Canada; Indian; Circumpolar Health; Human health; International Journal of Circumpolar Health; Alaska
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2021.1943983; https://doaj.org/article/a9d1119638d946b2913dc4eda0cdcfed

Social, environmental, and behavioural factors impact human health. Integrating these social determinants of health (SDOH) into electronic health records (EHR) may improve individual and population health. But how these data are collected and their use in clinical settings remain unclear. We reviewed efforts to integrate SDOH into EHR in the U.S. and Canada, especially how this implementation serves Indigenous peoples. We followed an established scoping review process, performing iterative keyword searches in subject-appropriate databases, reviewing identified works’ bibliographies, and soliciting recommendations from subject-matter experts. We reviewed 20 articles from an initial set of 2,459. Most discussed multiple SDOH indicator standards, with the National Academy of Medicine’s (NAM) the most frequently cited (n = 10). Common SDOH domains were demographics, economics, education, environment, housing, psychosocial factors, and health behaviours. Twelve articles discussed project acceptability and feasibility; eight mentioned stakeholder engagement (none specifically discussed engaging ethnic or social minorities); and six adapted SDOH measures to local cultures. Linking SDOH data to EHR as related to Indigenous communities warrants further exploration, especially how to best align cultural strengths and community expectations with clinical priorities. Integrating SDOH data into EHR appears feasible and acceptable and may improve patient care, patient-provider relationships, and health outcomes.