363 - Material Goods Provided in Pediatric Primary Care Clinics: A Landscape Analysis

Poster Number: 363
Publication Number: 363.1373

Background: Pediatric primary care clinics use various strategies to address families’ social needs. While many clinics offer material goods, including non-medical items (e.g., diapers, food, clothing, books, toothbrushes, etc.), we know little about these practices.

Objective: To characterize the a) types of material goods offered in pediatric continuity clinics across the country, b) availability of goods over time, c) funding sources used to support supply, and d) protocols for determining eligibility (e.g., screening, perceived community need).

Design/Methods: In partnership with the Academic Pediatric Association’s Continuity Research Network (APA CORNET), recruitment emails were sent to a representative at each enrolled residency program from July to October 2023. They were asked to select a faculty/staff member with knowledge of their main clinic site’s processes for social needs screening and resource provision to complete a 15-question web-based survey. Descriptive analyses were performed, and Chi square or Fisher’s exact tests were used to determine if there were significant differences in provision of each good by clinic characteristics.

Results: Of 113 programs, 51 participated (45%) with respondents from all regions of the US; most were form urban clinics (80%), and approximately half have greater than 75% publicly insured patients (Table 1). All clinics provided at least one type of material good in the preceding 12 months, but there was a wide range in how many clinics provide each good (Figure 1). There is also variability in how often each good was available and funding sources used. Items were rarely provided in response to screening but were often based on a perceived community need (Table 2). Most clinics (73%) have partnerships with community organizations. The clinical roles of those responsible for obtaining funding varied, yet only 8% were compensated or received protected time for this work. Commonly reported challenges to providing material goods were funding (82%), storage (65%), and sustainability (53%). There were no significant differences in in provision of each good by clinic setting, size, or proportion of publicly insured patients.

Conclusion(s): Given variability in the types, availability, funding sources, and allocation methods of material goods in continuity clinics, it is important to identify and implement best practices for goods’ provision in pediatric primary care. These results also highlight the need for further research to qualitatively evaluate the impact on providers and perspectives of patients and their families surrounding good provision.