Addressing Social Determinants of Health Through Improved Digital Engagement

Social determinants of health play an outsized role in how individuals and communities are able to access and afford care and non-medical services. And the pandemic has further exacerbated these socioeconomic factors, further challenging specific communities in their ability to navigate numerous obstacles in the way of their health and well-being.

Healthcare payers are well-positioned to reach these members where they are. By addressing social, financial, cultural, and linguistic barriers head-on, health plans can provide meaningful support that leads to positive outcomes. The key is to first understand who these communities and individuals are and then invest well-tailored digital engagement tools to effectively build trust and communicate important messages.

"We need to see the differences in the way that we approach members in order to provide more meaningful interventions and interactions with specific communities," says Wellframe Senior Content Partner Jessica Schiller, who specializes in chronic disease management and self-advocacy.

"Before we even speak to the issue of diabetes, we need to be thinking about how we build trust with these people," she continues. "We need to show that we care about those differences and recognize that there's a different set of problems that they might be facing. It is critical."

Health literacy remains a struggle for English-speaking communities, but what happens when digital communications do not cross the linguistic divide? According to Wellframe Communications and Translation Manager Daniel Kelley, Spanish-speaking communities face this challenge day in, day out.

"If a healthcare organization is offering telephonic support service in a state or a county that's primarily Spanish speaking, then Spanish-speaking staff need to be on that phone line," he explains. "It may sound obvious, but that's not always the case. Being intentional in your digital communications with members starts with reflecting the community you're serving. In doing so, you engage with them in a much more real and tangible way that shows them they are valued."

Healthcare payers and their provider partners need to rethink how they approach digital communications based on a growing body of knowledge about the communities they serve.

"Whatever you're providing should be something that's of value and resonates with the person reading it," Kelley adds. "Digital tools and communications offer a great opportunity to provide that level of specificity and granularity because you can use a member’s profile to personalize and surface different information to target different social determinants of health."

To engage historically disadvantaged and underserved populations more effectively, payers and providers must look more closely at the factors impacting the lives of individuals and communities outside the four walls of the clinic.

"We are stuck in traditional models of addressing care that focus on downstream needs rather than anticipating and addressing a member's needs holistically," says Schiller. "Today, we have resources that members can use to connect with their health plan, helping them draw the line and connect the dots between the fact that their housing, food insecurity, childcare, or employment status actually have an impact on their health. These resources are there within the healthcare system where they can get the support they need."

To promote awareness about prevention and self-advocacy, health plans need to be mindful and intentional about how and where they make those resources available.

" For 1 in 4 Spanish speakers, a smartphone is their primary means of accessing digital content," Kelley reveals. "They may not have a home computer; they may not have a job where they're regularly on a computer and able to check their email or surf the web.  Making a digital resource available on a smartphone is a simple, easy way to directly engage with a group of people who might otherwise be missed."

Texting can also be a vital tool in a health plan's digital communications arsenal.

"By offering those more frequent and less formal touchpoints where people can come in and get out of the healthcare communication space on their own time, it gives them more incentive to engage with the process, which then gives you more opportunities to share resources, provide education, and empower them to make better choices," Kelley adds.

By tailoring digital communications to the needs of specific individuals and communities, the healthcare system becomes more accessible, especially at a time when uncertainty and change prevail.

"When you think about COVID, accessibility of the most up-to-date information has become more critical than ever. Having digital tools and resources has forced the healthcare system to be more agile and encourages care teams to be able to be responsive to members’ changing needs," Schiller concludes.

Meeting members where they are means understanding who they are and the environment in which they are living. By piecing together key information, health plans can reduce barriers to care and non-medical services and ultimately promote a culture of prevention and wellness.

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Wellframe partners with health plans nationwide to reimagine member relationships. With solutions for care management and advocacy, the Wellframe Digital Health Management platform empowers health plans to become a trusted advocate for all their members' health needs. Learn more at wellframe.com.

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