Improving Mechanisms Between Interventional Community Partnerships to Better Promote Multidimensional Health

honors thesisCollege of Social & Behavioral ScienceHealth, Society & PolicyAnne ThackerayIn the past, access to health care was often considered one of the most critical determinants of health status. However, in recent years the degree to which health care is considered to have a direct impact on health status has shifted. Depending on the source, only 10-20% of an individual's overall health status can be directly attributed to health care. Another 10-20% is attributed to the individual's genetics, and a whopping 60-80% of an individual's overall health status can be attributed to Social Determinants of Health (SDoH).1 Therefore, it is imperative that the healthcare industry recognizes the environmental, economic, and social factors experienced by their patients which will have a direct impact on their overall health status. Social determinants are a broad set of variables with diverse effects on individuals and present a unique challenge for healthcare systems requiring a systems thinking approach involving interdisciplinary community partnerships as a fundamental model. No single entity or community organization can address the multitude of determinants of health alone, and narrow clinical approaches have experienced many pitfalls.2 Therefore, interventional partnerships between health systems and interventional organizations are necessary for promoting multidimensional health needs of the community. The purpose of this project was to look at two case studies of interventional organizations that promote multidimensional health. The two case studies included Connect2Health, a student-led organization and Health Leads, a national nonprofit. A comparison of the mechanisms of these models was completed to assess areas for success as well as areas needing innovation in order to justify the program relevancy and philanthropic investment. The evidence collected was used to suggest best practices and mechanisms that can be utilized by the models to help establish a more robust and successful business case and broader implementation into current and future health systems. Additionally, the integrated partnership flowcharts were used to identify where existing partnerships can evolve, and how feasibly the models can be integrated into clinical workflows to amplify the partnership's impact. The comparison between case studies revealed that both interventional models are a feasible and advantageous option for clinics to consider in decreasing time burdens and increase the number of reimbursable services they can provide while promoting multidimensional health. Both the Connect2Health and Health Leads models were very similar in the success they achieved using their interventional mechanisms. Although Connect2Health is a much smaller student-led organization, it demonstrated high efficacy in addressing the social needs of patients. The finding of this research were presented at the 2019 Utah Health Services Research Conference on April 4th, in a group presentation on the topic of "Patient/Community Engaged Research in Utah." The experience and input from the conference introduced further ideas on the possible successful mechanism in promoting multidimensional health within interventional community partnerships. It was concluded that the Connect2Health model needs to prioritize improving the tracking and measurement of current patient interactions to support the business case in order to prove the concept and move out of its current pilot stage. The next step is to map out the workflow of clinical case managers in current partnerships and use integrated flowcharts to determine where Connect2Health can improve processes. Also, by adding volunteer positions or hours to Connect2Health, the organization will have increased support in operations, research, and fundraising. Finally, to focus on increasing philanthropic funding, community partnerships, and implementing analytic tools to support sustainable and impactful growth of the organization