Background: As members of the patient experience committee, we aimed to identify areas of opportunity to improve the HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) scores. By analyzing the data through the utilization of our analytics tool provided by the patient and customer experience department, we noticed trends in the regional demographics in correlation with return of surveys and overall patient engagement highlighting the impact of Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). The purpose of this study is to leverage the use of SDOH in helping determine which patients would need stronger outreach to ensure all populations are engaged.
Methods: Through the utilization of an HCAHPS analytic tool, patients’ responses were analyzed in subgroups based on age, education level, race, and primary language. Results were compared to the population’s demographic served at that time.
Results: We examined a total of 2,114 patient experience survey responses over a three-month period. 93% of surveys returned were from individuals ranging from 50-80+ years of age. 82% of respondents were White, 6% Black, 3% Asian and 7% unknown. 87% spoke English, 3% spoke Spanish and the remaining 10% of respondents’ language were unknown. Comparing to the populations demographic served during this three-month period, results show 54% of the patient population served were White, 16% Black, 8% Asian, and 4% varied races. 89% of persons served spoke English, 5% Spanish, 5% comprised of a multitude of languages and 1% language was not specified.
Conclusions: We noticed a higher level of engagement and return of surveys from the White patient population. The data trends highlight the need to improve patient experience engagement in the minority patient population. Understanding that social determinants of health play a role in patient engagement helps providers better target patient outreach and engagement efforts pushing for a just and inclusive culture. Ensuring that diversity is represented at the table remains central to promoting change, equity, and quality in healthcare.