The association of patient-reported social determinants of health and hospitalization rate: A scoping review

Abstract

Introduction: The interplay between social determinants of health (SDOH) and hospitalization is significant as targeted interventions can improve the social status of the individuals. This interrelation has been historically overlooked in health care. In the present study, we reviewed studies in which the association between patient-reported social risks and hospitalization rate was assessed.

Method: We performed a scoping literature review of articles published until September 1, 2022 without time limit. We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar to find relevant studies using terms representing "social determinants of health" and "hospitalization." Forward and backward reference checking was done for the included studies. All studies that used patient-reported data as a proxy of social risks to determine the association between social risks and hospitalization rates were included. The screening and data extraction processes were done independently by two authors. In case of disagreement, senior authors were consulted.

Results: Our search process retrieved a total of 14,852 records. After the duplicate removal and screening process, eight studies met the eligibility criteria, all of which were published from 2020 to 2022. The sample size of the studies ranged from 226 to 56,155 participants. All eight studies investigated the impact of food security on hospitalization, and six investigated economic status. In three studies, latent class analysis was applied to divide participants based on their social risks. Seven studies found a statistically significant association between social risks and hospitalization rates.

Conclusion: Individuals with social risk factors are more susceptible to hospitalization. There is a need for a paradigm shift to meet these needs and reduce the number of preventable hospitalizations.

Keywords: healthcare utilization; hospital; inpatients; scoping review; social determinants of health.

Figure 1

The flow diagram of the screening process. SDOH, Social Determinants of Health.