Integrity Point of View Articles

Assessing Social Determinants of Health With In-Home Care From Integrity

By: Integrity Home Care + Hospice

As a home care and hospice specialist for over 20 years, Integrity Home Care has supported families in their most vulnerable times by providing in-home care services that include addressing specific social challenges that can compromise health. According to Healthy People 2030, social determinants of health are “conditions in the environments in which people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning and quality-of-life outcomes and risk.” 

That’s quite a mouthful. But more simply stated, social determinants of health are the socio-economic conditions that can affect our long-term health. (We’ll discuss some specific examples shortly.) 

Coordinating Social Care

At Integrity Home Care, our commitment is to whole-person care. This means addressing the five domains of the social determinants of health as part of our in-home care services. When we assess these areas for our patients and their families, we can better identify specific areas of need and coordinate our efforts to create environments that promote the best health for all. One way we accomplish this is by connecting people to resources they need, when they need them. For example, coordinating the construction of a wheel-chair ramp, scheduling repairs for an unreliable refrigerator, delivering firewood for maintaining heat in the home, or administering support by completing advanced directives.

The Five Domains of SDOH

Listed below are the five domains of the social determinants of health (SDOH), followed by the ways Integrity’s multi-disciplinary team of home care specialists support each area. Our goal is to meet your personal in-home care goals and promote the healthiest physical and social environments possible.

1. Quality of Education and Education Access—We are passionate about educating our patients and their families. We frequently challenge ourselves to complete Goals of Care discussions and advanced care planning with our clients. In-home case management keeps our teams alerted to any changes that need to be discussed.
2. Health Care Access and Quality—Our Care Navigators are experts at seamless care-coordination between primary care, specialists, acute and post-acute teams. With Integrity Home Care + Hospice, you have access to the best home health, in-home care, medication-planning, and in-home hospice support services in the industry—all under one roof. 
3. Economic Stability—Integrity Home Care teams offer economic stability support to our patients and their caregivers by assisting with the completion of applications to programs like Medicaid, Meals on Wheels, and other community resources. 
4. Social and Community Context—Our hospice services include a comprehensive bereavement program, connection to support groups and social programs, and ongoing caregiver education and support.
5. Neighborhood and Built Environment—We support lifeline connections, offer veterans support and assistance, and facilitate connection to housing support resources.

If you’d like more information about how Integrity Home Care can support you and your family through in-home care services, including social determinant of health assessments, please send us an email or give us a call. We can’t wait to hear from you.