Screening patients for social needs and referring patients to resources should be a routine part of cancer care, said a physician who presented a study on the social needs of patients at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology’s 2022 Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer held in March.
The study, by Anna L. Beavis, MD, MPH, a gynecologic oncologist with the Johns Hopkins Kelly Gynecologic Oncology Service, Baltimore, identified social needs, such as financial assistance and housing insecurity, among a group of 373 patients who completed a written assessment during regular office visits.
The patients were asked about food and housing insecurities, utility and transportation needs, and financial assistance. For some patients these are such dire issues, they actually affect patient outcomes.
While the results were limited to a single urban population and may not be generalizable to other populations, Dr. Beavis said the findings are noteworthy because for physicians, these are tangible items that can be addressed to improve patient outcomes.
“The greatest obstacle is not asking the questions, it’s in ensuring there are acceptable and effective mechanisms for referrals to resources. It is important to have a plan in place to refer patients to resources before beginning a screening program,” she said.
In an interview, Dr. Beavis said that screening and referring patients to resources should be a routine part of cancer care. In this study, 92% of patients completed the questionnaire in her office and the process doesn’t slow her clinic down, she said.
“Our findings demonstrate that social needs are prevalent, and screening for them should be a routine part of the standard of care for cancer patients,” Dr. Beavis said. “Social needs are also actionable for us as physicians, because we can address tangible, individual-level needs, such as food insecurity and transportation, through the provision of resources. These needs stand in contrast to the social determinants of health, which are community-level and require changes on a much larger scale through policy decisions.”
Of the 373 patients in the study group, 74 patients were identified as having at least one social need. Fifty-seven percent asked for a referral to a partner organization for resource assistance. Fifty-eight percent of the study group were White and 42% identified as patients of color, including Black, Asian, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaska Native, and multiple/other races.
“We’ve begun to assess patient satisfaction and have found that patients feel these questions are important – plus, they’re comfortable answering them,” she said.
Dr. Beavis’ study was funded by a grant from the American Cancer Society and Pfizer Global Medical Grants under the Addressing Racial Disparities in Cancer Care Competitive Grant Program.