Grant: Project Grant

Social conditions affect an individual's health and can lead to unfair differences in health across patient groups (known as health inequities). Current health databases do not contain comprehensive patient sociodemographic (SD) information, such as educational background, housing status, or employment status, despite their known influences on health. As a result, it is difficult to identify patients who may be at risk for poor outcomes and to develop interventions to address health inequities. A single electronic health record (EHR) has been implemented at all hospitals in Alberta. This initiative presents a unique opportunity to enhance this province-wide database to one that contains both health and SD information for all hospitalized patients across the province. Our research objective is to understand the extent to which SD information is currently collected in Alberta hospitals, and the factors that influence their collection. In Objective 1 of our study, we will look at how often SD data are captured, using all hospitalization records from Jan-Dec 2024 across Alberta. We will also explore whether there are unit or hospital factors (e.g. hospital size, geographic location) that influence these completion rates. In Objective 2, we will conduct focus groups and interviews with patients, providers, and staff from 5 hospital units with high and 5 with low SD completion rates to understand the individual, interpersonal, community, and organizational (including unit and hospital-level) influences, as well as potential risks, to SD data collection in hospital. Our findings will be used to inform future work, which includes co-designing (with patients and providers) interventions and processes for the routine collection of SD information in hospital. A comprehensive clinical database, that also includes SD information, for all hospitalized patients in the province will transform the ability of the healthcare system to provide high quality, equitable patient care.