Aims
Adverse social determinants of health (SDoH) lead to health outcome disparities including in people living with cancer. Little is known about the prevalence of social factors affecting people with cancer. This study describes the unmet social needs of people living in a disadvantaged area of Australia receiving treatment for cancer.
Methods
We recruited 141 people ≥18 years old with any cancer diagnosis receiving treatment at the Northern Adelaide Cancer Centre. Participants completed a locally developed Social Health Screening Tool, which included 10 questions across 7 social determinant domains. We collected age, country of birth, education level and Healthcare Card access. Descriptive analyses summarised the data and the prevalence of unmet social needs.
Results
Mean (SD) age of participants was 60 yo. The youngest and oldest participants were 18 and 88yo respectively. Seventy percent were Australian born; 18% UK born. Over 75% had completed at least Year 10 education. The number of unmet needs reported per individual varied, with 72% of participants reporting at least one unmet social need. Twenty-three people (16%) reported ≥3 unmet social needs. One individual reported 8 unmet needs. The most prevalent adverse SDoH was unemployment (53%), followed by rental or mortgage stress (21%), feeling unsupported by family and community (17%), household bills (13%) and food insecurity (12%). The majority felt safe in their home and neighbourhood.
Conclusions
This study highlights the challenges of unmet social needs in unwell people living with disadvantage and the importance of systematic screening to facilitate detection. The SDoH screening tool is being used in a follow-up clinical trial using a Health Navigator to assist people living with cancer address unmet needs. Integrating SDoH screening into practice may augment patient-centred healthcare, improve quality of life and reduce emergency department presentations and admissions.