Social Determinates of Health (SDoH) focuses conversations about improving patient health and wellbeing outward. Where people live, who they live with, what they do for a living, and how they live can have a larger impact on their health than any medical intervention.
So where is occupational therapy in this conversation?
Hasn’t OT always focused on improving a patient’s access to and navigation of the five domains included in the SDoH?
I think the answer to that is a resounding YES! OT’s holistic approach, skilled assessment of patient strengths and barriers, and clinical expertise at creating patient-centered pathways to patient-identified goals should put occupational therapy in the center of this effort.
So what are some of the contributions OT makes to support patients in each of the five domains?
- Domain 1: Economic Stability
- Money management skills
- Food prep skills
- Addressing barriers to work
- Pain management
- Management of behavioral health
- Adaptations to transportation, communication and work tasks
- Domain 2: Education Access and Quality
- School based OT and pediatric OT
- Improving digital literacy
- Goal setting and action plans
- Outdoor access and play
- Domain 3: Health Care Access and Quality
- Independence with ADLs
- Health literacy tools
- Medication management tools and strategies
- OT’s role across settings: primary care, oncology, emergency rooms, acute care, assisted care facilities, outpatient clinics, schools, and behavioral health settings.
- Domain 4: Neighborhood and Built Environment
- Home Health OT
- Falls prevention
- IADLs: transportation and communication skills
- Adaptations to the environment or tasks
- Vision interventions
- Domain 5: Social and Community Context
- Community mobility and transportation
- Pet and service animal care and management
- Caregiver support and respite
- Support of vulnerable populations – foster care kids, homeless or persons with cognitive barriers
How are you supporting your OT patients in the 5 SDoH domains? Let me know! I’m sure there are dozens of examples that I missed!
Want to learn more? Visit U. S. Department of Health and Human Services Healthy People 2030
