Abstract A010: Improving social determinants of health (SDoH) screening and intervention in a pediatric hematology/oncology clinic: A quality improvement initiative

Abstract Introduction: Social determinants of health (SDoH) have been extensively studied in adult populations, revealing strong associations between adverse health outcomes and factors such as race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Similar disparities are observed in pediatric populations, though data in this domain remain limited. In response, the University of Chicago has established a goal of screening at least 75% of all patients and their families for social needs to better understand and address these disparities especially given its high-risk catchment area. However, the Pediatric Hematology and Oncology (Peds H/O) clinic currently underperforms relative to this institutional benchmark in both survey completion and data integration within the Epic electronic health record system. Methods: Prior to this study, a Social Determinants of Health screening tool was developed to assess six health-related social needs (HRSNs) specifically for pediatric patients. While originally designed for integration into medical assistant or nursing workflows, the Peds H/O clinic lacks medical assistant staffing due to the specialized nature of its patient care model. Consequently, this quality improvement initiative will shift data entry responsibilities to providers—including attendings, advanced practice nurses (APNs), and fellows—who will be trained in proper data input procedures. Post-intervention tracking will evaluate improvements in survey completion rates and the impact on care coordination. In parallel, social work contact hours and consultation instances will be recorded in a shared Excel database, allowing for detailed tracking of consult reasons, interventions, and associated patient demographics. Medical record number (MRN) data will be used to identify patterns in service utilization and inform timing of interventions. The combined dataset will be analyzed to identify periods of elevated resource utilization throughout oncology treatment and to evaluate patterns in resource allocation associated with social determinants of health, including socioeconomic status, educational attainment, and geographic indicators such as zip code. Results: Results will be reported following survey data extraction and analysis. Conclusions: Through this integrated analysis of SDoH screening results, demographic characteristics, and social work engagement, the project aims to elucidate common risk factors and resource needs among pediatric hematology and oncology patients. Ultimately, the goal is to establish a data-informed framework for early identification and proactive intervention for high-risk populations, thereby enhancing health equity and outcomes. Citation Format: Karyssa S. Knopoff, Allison Bartlett, Loren Saulsberry, Lindsay Schwartz. Improving social determinants of health (SDoH) screening and intervention in a pediatric hematology/oncology clinic: A quality improvement initiative [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 18th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities; 2025 Sep 18-21; Baltimore, MD. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2025;34(9 Suppl):Abstract nr A010.