SFGH Health Advocates Stage II Study

Overview

The San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH) Health Advocate Staff II Study is a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) that collects survey data and non-invasive biological data from caregivers and children visiting a pediatric urgent care center. Families will be randomized according to a pre-determined randomization schedule into one of two social needs-focused interventions (the Health Advocates Program or a 211 Information active comparator arm). All patients in the study will be followed over a six month period to capture information about changes in social needs, health and health care utilization.

Adverse social circumstances like hunger and food insecurity can have dramatic, negative impacts on the health of vulnerable children. In safety-net settings, the prevalence of these adverse social circumstances are high. The investigators are proposing an RCT on an intervention based in a large urban pediatric urgent care setting that addresses patients' social circumstances. In an earlier RCT conducted in a similar setting, this intervention helped decrease total social needs and parent reported child health on a single item measure. In this study, the investigators will collect a more robust set of survey data including detailed measures of child health and non-invasive biological data from children and caregivers accompanying those children. Families will be randomized according to a pre-determined randomization schedule into the social needs-focused intervention. In one arm, the investigators will offer the intervention, which involves in-person navigation around available social and legal resources; in the other, the investigators will offer written information to participants on available community resources. All patients in both arms will be followed over a six month period to capture information about changes in participants' social needs, health and health care utilization.