Examining How Social Risk Factors Are Integrated Into Clinical Settings Using Existing Data: A Scoping Review.

Purpose: Integrating social care into clinical care requires substantial resources. Use of existing data through a geographic information system (GIS) has the potential to support efficient and effective integration of social care into clinical settings. We conducted a scoping literature review characterizing its use in primary care settings to identify and address social risk factors.

Assessment and Evaluation in Social Determinants of Health Education: a National Survey of US Medical Schools and Physician Assistant Programs.

Background: Social determinants of health (SDOH) curricular content in medical schools and physician assistant programs are increasing. However, there is little understanding of current practice in SDOH learner assessment and program evaluation, or what the best practices are.

Objective: Our study aim was to describe the current landscape of assessment and evaluation at US medical schools and physician assistant programs as a first step in developing best practices in SDOH education.

Expert Consensus Guidelines for Assessing Students on the Social Determinants of Health.

Phenomenon: Assessment and evaluation guidelines inform programmatic changes necessary for educational effectiveness. Presently, no widely accepted guidelines exist for educators to assess learners and evaluate programs regarding social determinants of health (SDOH) during physician and physician assistant (PA) education. We sought to garner expert consensus about effective SDOH learner assessment and program evaluation, so as to make recommendations for best practices related to SDOH education.

Identifying and Addressing Social Determinants of Health in the Primary Care Clinical Training Environment: A Survey of the Landscape.

Introduction: This study surveyed the use of systematic strategies to address social determinants of health in the primary care clinical training environment.

Methods: We designed a 51-item questionnaire targeting medical educators from internal medicine, pediatrics, and family practice to assess strategies to identify and mitigate social needs, the role of trainees in this process, and barriers/facilitators to systematic approaches.

Results: The survey was completed by 104 medical educators from 77 institutions.

Power and Language in Medical Education.

As medical educators, we aspire to teach the physicians of tomorrow the importance of considering a patient's social, environmental, historical, and cultural context when caring for them. In this paper, we posit that the language we use to communicate concepts and to describe patients and communities can have profound implications. Linguistic forms such as labels, metaphors, and descriptors can lead to disparities in care and reinforce systemic and structural inequities.