(929) Patient-centered approaches to addressing unmet social needs in pregnancy: a survey of patients’ preferences

Social determinants of health (SDoH), including material (tangible) and social support (relationship-based) needs, affect 40% of healthcare outcomes. Yet, SDoH are inconsistently screened and addressed in routine prenatal care. We describe pregnant people’s preferences for addressing unmet material and social support social needs in pregnancy to improve connection to resources and health outcomes.

Study Design:

We conducted a nationally representative, cross-sectional online survey of pregnant and postpartum people using Centiment, an online survey panel. By design, our cohort included equal numbers of publicly and privately insured participants, given differences in social needs and access to supportive resources in these populations. Key domains included preferences for screening and managing social needs during routine prenatal care. Participants also self-reported basic demographic and pregnancy characteristics and social needs. All data were summarized using basic descriptive statistics. 

Results:

Of the 215 participants, mean age was 30.6 (+/-5.7), 77% (167/215) were White, and 86.0% (185/215) were non-Hispanic. The majority of participants believed it was important for their care team to know their social needs (material: 80.5%, social support: 93.0%), and were comfortable sharing their needs (material: 84.7%, social support: 86.5%), even when the care team was not able to provide assistance (material: 54.4%, social support: 56.7%). Over 75% of participants were willing to complete social needs screening and receive resources through multiple methods, including text, email, apps, or conversations with medical or non-medical team members.

Conclusion: Pregnant people believe it is important for their pregnancy care team to know about their social needs. Many, but not all, are open to sharing their needs even if their care team cannot provide assistance. Tailored SDoH interventions that offer multiple options for screening and linkage to resources are promising for improving access and outcomes, and may be most impactful when assistance is available.