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Health Equity/Community Health

Poster Session 1

(308) Investigating Gaps Filled by Perinatal Patient Navigation to Address Social Determinants of Health in Pregnancy

Tuesday, February 13, 2024
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM  
Location: Prince George's Exhibit Hall CDE, Lower Atrium Level
Objective: Social determinants of health (SDoH) contribute to disparities in maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Community-based patient navigators (PN) may be an important intervention to provide comprehensive health and social services for vulnerable pregnant patients. This study describes the patients referred to a novel perinatal PN program based in a high social vulnerability index county and the patient-driven SDoH needs targeted during its initial instigation.

Study Design: This is a descriptive cohort study of patients referred to a novel PN program from 1/2023-4/2023 based on a structured SDoH assessment during the initial prenatal visit. Data regarding p</span>atient demographics, referral criteria, resources provided, and PN-reported barriers to intervention were assessed descriptively through EMR review and the PN program records.

Results: 227 patients were referred to the perinatal PN program (3170 total deliveries; 7.2%). The median maternal age was 25, and the median gestational age at referral was 18 weeks. 61% of patients had Medicaid insurance, 63% were Black, and 7.4 % were Hispanic. A description of referral criteria and resources provided is in the Table. The majority of patients were referred for food insecurity (15 %) and the top 3 needs identified were food (44%), doula support (17.1%), and mental health (11.8%). The primary barriers identified were inability to reach the patient via phone (15%) and patients who did not speak English as a primary language (5.7%).

Conclusion: Understanding the types of social service needs during pregnancy, and the barriers in connecting patients to these services, allows this and similar programs to effectively target gaps in comprehensive support for socially vulnerable pregnant patients. Optimization of resources to meet the actual needs of patients facing modifiable social barriers may improve perinatal outcomes and decrease disparities.