Americans want health care providers involved in food, housing, transportation needs

It’s not just medical care anymore.

A third of Americans are under so much stress just trying to keep roofs over their heads, food on the table and a reliable means of transport available when they need it that they would welcome their health care providers help.

That’s according Kaiser Permanente’s Social Needs in America survey, which finds that 68 percent of Americans have experienced at least one unmet social need in the last year, and more than 25 percent said an unmet social need was a barrier to health; 21 percent prioritized paying for food or rent over seeing a doctor or getting a medication.

Related: How do social factors affect health?

The survey asked respondents about what stood in their way in making sure those social needs were covered, and how that impacted their being able to get the health care they needed. It also asked how they wanted doctors, nurses and other care providers to help them get past those barriers to care.

“At Kaiser Permanente we think holistically about health, which includes medical care and other factors like access to food, transportation, and housing,” says Kaiser Permanente chairman and CEO Bernard J. Tyson. “By helping close the gap on social needs, we have an opportunity to advance the health of communities across the country and safeguard everyone’s right to thrive.”

Among other findings is the fact that Americans look upon those social needs as just as important as medical care; 89 percent of respondents said safe and stable housing is very or extremely important to health and 80 percent said reliable transportation is very or extremely important.

Those who aren’t able to keep up with those social needs are more than twice as likely to classify their health as fair or poor (16 percent) as those who are more secure (6 percent). In addition, a third of respondents say they’re stressed over social needs, with 28 percent reporting that a social need kept them from getting care in the past year. Stress levels were high over getting enough food or balanced meals—39 percent said social needs got in the way—and 35 percent say they’re stressed over housing.

And 97 percent say that medical providers ought to be asking about social needs during medical visits, with just 10 percent saying they would feel nervous or annoyed by such questions.

Kaiser Permanente also announced the opening of its first Thrive Local social needs resources network in its northwest region, in which medical practitioners are incorporating the tool into the organization’s electronic health records system so that people with social needs can be connected with resources that can help to meet them.

“We must ensure individuals have access to the health and social services they need to be well,” says Bechara Choucair, M.D., chief community health officer at Kaiser Permanente. ”When we ask our members if they’ve had to skip a meal lately, if they can afford their medications, or if they have reliable transportation, we know the answers to those questions can tell us as much about their future health as their blood pressure tells us. When we can prevent negative health outcomes with access to social services, we can make our communities healthier for the 68 million people living there.”

Read more: 

• Social determinants of health playing a bigger role in doctor visits
• How social determinants of health affect your employee benefit program
• Should housing, food and transportation be covered health costs?