How Healthcare Organizations Can Help Improve Social Risk Interventions

Financing healthcare organizations’ involvement in social risk interventions would require multiple funding approaches and is not guaranteed to improve the delivery of social services, according to research published in JAMA Health Forum.

Social determinants of health, such as food insecurity, housing instability, and poor transportation access, can lead to significant social risks for individuals. Social risks negatively impact health outcomes, healthcare utilization, and healthcare costs.

Healthcare organizations must form meaningful partnerships with community-based organizations for multisector collaboration to succeed. From there, financing approaches must be contextualized in the broader conversation around healthcare’s role in addressing social risks.

“In some cases, improving health for those harmed by social risks may be best pursued entirely outside of the healthcare sector through social policy changes. But in other cases, using healthcare dollars to address social risks to health may be one part of a comprehensive strategy to improve population health and health equity,” the viewpoint concluded.