OneWorld teams address drivers of health
Sometimes helping a patient requires digging a little deeper into their inner and outer worlds. Take, for example, a patient who visits her primary care provider for support managing her diabetes. After learning she’ll need to take insulin, the patient
behavioral health needs that otherwise wouldn’t be presenting in the way they are in that appointment,” Ramirez said. This is just one example of how a patient’s current economic situation could stand in the way of ongoing medical treatment, while heightening the need for behavioral health care. As Social Services staff members work to address the patient’s resource barriers, a Behavioral Health Therapist could also be called to provide mental health support. The therapist might help the patient with coping mechanisms for her stress and anxiety, or provide a safe space to talk about what is going on. Social drivers of health attempt to describe the big picture affecting an individual’s well-being: the socioeconomic conditions, environmental conditions, institutional power and social networks, according to the National Association of Community Health Centers’ PRAPARE toolkit. For example, the assessment explores personal characteristics like race, ethnicity, language and work status, taking into consideration systemic racism and inequality. It also delves into housing status and neighborhood; money and other resources; social connection and stress; and safety.
becomes stressed. Insulin needs to be refrigerated, and her utilities are about to be shut off due to lack of funds. She’ll have no
way to keep the insulin cold. Her anxiety rises. The interdisciplinary teams of OneWorld are prepared. In this hypothetical scenario shared by Associate Director of Operations Idania Ramirez, the primary care provider would contact the Social Services team to assess the patient’s living, working and other conditions, sometimes referred to as social drivers of health. The assessment could reveal other needs, like food insecurity or lack of transportation, that are also affecting the patient. “That physical representation of unmet needs looks like a patient who is very overwhelmed, who is presenting a lot of symptoms of anxiety, depression and maybe even triggering other Idania Ramirez Associate Director of Operations
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The physical representation of unmet needs looks like a patient who is very overwhelmed, who is presenting a lot of symptoms of anxiety and depression...”
Associate Director of Operations, Idania Ramirez
ISSUE 2 2024 | EXCHANGE 9
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