Using Social Determinants of Health to Guide Interprofessional Work at Student-Led Outreach Clinic

Student-led clinics provide a unique opportunity for students to engage in interprofessional education. Under the guidance of health professionals, they collaborate with multiple disciplines to care for members of the community. Students practice advocating for their neighbors and learn roles. Students are also exposed to diverse perspectives as they practice communication and mutual respect. A need was discovered to provide more IPE experiences for students at Indiana University- Indianapolis. The IU Student Outreach Clinic (IUSOC) provides community health care resources with students from multiple disciplines (e.g. medicine, pharmacy, nursing, social work, and law) working together to help community members navigate the clinic to receive services they need. It provides a space for students to collaborate and practice with support from faculty or practitioners. IU School of Nursing- Indianapolis joined the IUSOC with a goal of increasing exposure to, and considerations of, social determinants of health (SDOH) that can impact patient health. Students were required to create a community profile of the area surrounding the clinic using tools such as demographic data, income and housing profiles, and education levels. With this data, students compiled a list of possible assets and deficits in the community related to supporting SDOH that could impact patient care. Once the profile was complete, the students used a questionnaire during their time at the clinic to ask patients about their SDOH needs. This allowed the students to compare how the SDOH data for their patient related to perceived needs and available resources of the community. With this knowledge, students felt empowered to advocate for their patients during encounters with other disciplines. This also allowed students to feel prepared and comfortable participating in debrief conversations, where they could reflect on team concepts and collaboration. Student reflections and survey data related to this experience showed the pre-work collection of SDOH data prepared them to consider health literacy needs and increased their ability to collaborate interprofessionally. Improvements were also seen in their ability to provide constructive feedback, seeking out other team members to address issues, and being accountable for contributions to the team. Directly supporting the theme of ‘Preparing Students for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice’, this proposal describes how Interprofessional Education in an SOC provides a real-life opportunity for students to learn how to better collaborate with interprofessional team members, while considering and supporting the SDOH that could impact the care of their patients.