Screening and Referral for Health-Related Social Needs and Financial Distress: Current Processes Among National Cancer Institute Community Oncology Research Program Practices.

Purpose: Health-related social needs (HRSNs) are associated with adverse cancer health outcomes. We assessed the processes for screening and responding to both HRSNs and financial distress and described the methods used across National Cancer Institute Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) practices.

Methods: The NCORP 2022 Landscape Assessment survey focused on services to screen for and respond to HRSNs and financial distress within a national network of community oncology practices. We calculated the proportions of oncology practices that screened for and responded to HRSNs and financial distress, separately, and described the staff, tools, and methods used for each process. Multivariable logistic regression models estimated the associations between oncology practice characteristics and screening for HRSNs and financial distress.

Results: The majority of community oncology practices reported screening for HRSNs (79%), and of those, most inquired about transportation (96%), family and social support (93%), housing (80%), and food security (80%). Most oncology practices reported screening for financial distress (78%). Social worker evaluation was the most common method used to screen for both HRSNs (77%) and financial distress (65%). Most oncology practices reported social work referral as the method for responding to HRSNs (89%) and financial distress (96%). Oncology practice characteristics such as having a survivorship clinic and geographic region were associated with screening for HRSNs and financial distress.

Conclusion: Research is needed to understand the impact of different HRSN screening and referral approaches on care delivery, clinic costs, care quality, and health outcomes of patients with cancer. These efforts are critical to generate evidence to inform best practices, clinical guidelines, and novel interventions aimed to improve cancer health equity.