Social Determinants of Health in Clinical Practice
Summary
Social determinants of health (SDoH) encompass the non-medical factors influencing health outcomes, ranging from socioeconomic status and education to housing, nutrition and social support. In clinical practice, integrating SDoH recognises that a patient’s environment and social context are pivotal to prevention, diagnosis and long-term management. Practitioners now employ structured screening tools, embed social assessments in electronic health records and collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to connect patients to community resources. This holistic approach aims to mitigate health inequities by addressing upstream drivers of illness, improving patient engagement and reducing unnecessary hospital readmissions. Globally, research on SDoH informs health policy and guides the development of interventions that enhance equity, efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Practical applications include social prescribing initiatives, care pathways that involve social workers or community navigators, and digital solutions that surface social risk data from clinical narratives. By systematically identifying and responding to social needs at the point of care, clinicians can deliver more personalised, contextually sensitive healthcare.
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Social Determinants of Health in Clinical Practice publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in social determinants of health in clinical practice across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Social determinants of health: Non-medical factors such as socioeconomic status, education, living conditions and social support that influence health outcomes.
Social prescribing: A model of care that links patients with non-clinical community resources to address social and psychological needs.
Electronic health record (EHR): A digital system for storing patient information, including clinical histories, tests and treatment plans.
Large language model (LLM): A type of artificial intelligence that processes and generates human-like text, used to extract structured information from unstructured clinical notes.
Biopsychosocial template: A structured clinical documentation format that incorporates biological, psychological and social domains of patient assessment.
References
- Large language models to identify social determinants of health in electronic health records. npj Digital Medicine (2024).
- Implementation of a Biopsychosocial History and Physical Exam Template in the Electronic Health Record: Mixed Methods Study. JMIR Medical Education (2023).
- Screening for social determinants of health in clinical care: moving from the margins to the mainstream. Public Health Reviews (2018).
- Effectiveness of Social Needs Screening and Interventions in Clinical Settings on Utilization, Cost, and Clinical Outcomes: A Systematic Review. Health Equity (2022).
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