The SDOH Academy Resource Compendium
One of the most common barriers to addressing social determinants of health (SDOH) is knowing where to begin. As a collection of work produced by the SDOH Academy, this resource compendium can support organizations regardless of the stage of their SDOH response missions. This Resource Compendium will help you navigate through the foundations of responding to SDOH needs to a celebration of health centers’ innovative practices.
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The SDOH Academy established a set of core competencies as a framework to increase the number of health centers that screen for, document and respond to social determinants of health to improve patient and population health outcomes. Developed in 2019, the core competencies framework is meant to guide health centers, Primary Care Associations (PCAs), and Health Center Controlled Networks (HCCNs) to operate off of the same concepts and definitions when exploring the root causes of health.
The core competencies include:
Improve Access to Quality Health Care and Services by Increasing Capacity for Patients to Access SDOH Services
Foster a Health Care Workforce Able to Address Current and Emerging Needs Related to SDOH
Enhance Population Health and Address Health Disparities through Community Partnerships and System Delivery Transformation
Increase Knowledge of Emerging Issues Related to SDOH
Highlights of the 2021 Breakthrough Series
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In 2021, the SDOH Academy offered a “Breakthrough Series” with the goal of increasing participants’ capacity to respond to SDOH needs. Guided by the SDOH Faculty, each webinar focused on one of the four strategies outlined by the Academy’s Four Core Competencies.
Highlights of the 2022 Innovations Showcase
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In 2022, the SDOH Academy devised the Innovations Showcase Competition to spark and/or advance innovations that support the role of health centers in creating both individual and systemic changes that address SDOH factors and improve the health of their communities.
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The Kickoff Webinar featured a keynote speech delivered by Dr. Hasshan Batts, Executive Director of the Promise Neighborhoods of the Lehigh Valley (PNLV) where he uses the concept of “Radical Welcome” to engage with individuals that are often excluded from community efforts. During his speech, Dr. Batts discussed how his personal journey has informed community-based efforts to improve the health and well-being of structurally marginalized people in Allentown, PA. He also shared how PNLV is currently leading an innovative community engagement project in partnership with a community health center, health system, university, and community partners
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As a five-part activity, structured to address the SDOHs, the faculty of the SDOH Academy prepared three, self-paced training modules each aligned with the various goals of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Healthy People 2030 initiative and the SDOH Academy’s core competencies.
Each online module focused on a different area of the SDOH:
Module 1 - Economic, environmental, and educational factors of the SDOH.
Module 2 - Age, race, nationality, and gender as a SDOH.
Module 3 - The role of data and technology in the SDOH.
Completion of each module is required for organizations planning to submit their innovations for the Showcase Competition. Likewise, these modules were open to all and available on the SDOH Academy website. For those submitting an innovation, the module content helped guide them in deciding which of the three categories to submit their innovation - each category corresponded with the content presented in the modules. Ultimately, the SDOH Academy received eight submissions across the various SDOH categories.
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The Innovations Showcase culminated in a virtual, live audience webinar where the winner and two runner-ups presented to an audience of 127 attendees about their innovations.
December 2022
WINNER
Kokua Kalihi Valley Comprehensive Family Services | Hui Hoaka
Submission Category: Economic, Environmental, and Educational Factors as SDOHs
Grand Prize: $5,000 Grant, sponsored by UnitedHealthcare
RUNNER UP
AlohaCare | A Promise of Hope
Submission Category: Economic, Environmental, and Educational Factors as SDOHs
RUNNER UP
Center for Health Equity Transformation, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine | Reimagining Patient Navigation
Submission Category: Role of Data and Technology in the SDOHs
The Innovations Showcase served as a starting point for health centers, PCAs, HCCNs, look-alikes, and other stakeholders to better understand the impact the SDOH have on their patients and the communities they serve. Information about each of the eight innovation submissions was published to the SDOH Academy website in hopes of providing others with information and ideas about ways to develop and implement their own innovations at their organizations. Ultimately, the SDOH Academy’s goal is to continue increasing the understanding of the impact of SDOHs on health equity and access to care.