Social Decisions, a Washington, D.C.-based healthcare analytics firm, A new indicator was announced Thursday Its purpose is to measure the impact of social connection on health outcomes and business performance.
The metric is part of the company’s SocialScape platform, a subscription-based suite of tools purchased by customers. The platform collects and analyzes data on everything from health literacy to the housing environment for a variety of organizations focused on addressing the social determinants of health.The company’s clients include health plans, health systems and hospitals, life sciences companies and nonprofits across the U.S.
“The Social Connectedness metric analyzes the impact of loneliness, social network quality, and social capital to provide an unimpeded view of how they converge to influence social connections within a community,” Alan Lattimer, chief analytics officer at Socially Delivered, said in a statement.
This indicator also takes into account other data.
Lattimer said the company processed dozens of elements, including geospatial data from the open platform SafeGraph; Immigration data from the IRS; information on population density, climate, community resources, and recreational options in specific areas.
“These considerations allow us to visualize social connections and better understand a person’s capacity for purpose-driven, meaningful interactions,” he said.
Based on social determination, the new metric expands the company’s portfolio of community risk scores to assess social determinants at a “hyperlocal level.”
“It is well known that social determinants of health can influence health outcomes by up to 80 percent,” Latimer said. “This is a huge challenge for healthcare organizations with limited understanding of what actually affects health. “
It is well known that social isolation is a major risk factor for many different health problems.
A sort of Report Research from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine found that social isolation was associated with an approximately 50% higher risk of dementia, a 29% higher risk of heart disease and a 32% higher risk of stroke. Social isolation significantly increases a person’s risk of premature death from all causes, and research suggests it may rival the risks of smoking, obesity and physical inactivity.
Social Decisions aims to shed light on local social determinants through its analysis called Social Risk Intelligence. The company also provides solutions for organizations working to effectively address social determinants.
“Our company is built on deep healthcare and technology expertise to gain a comprehensive understanding of where and how socioeconomic factors affect communities and people,” Lattimer said.
A growing number of health organizations are trying to take social determinants into account to improve patient outcomes. One of the most prominent figures in the field, unite us, created an SDOH platform through which a coordinated care network of health and social service providers was established. Penn Medicine and Wharton Social Impact Program Has a $5 million fund “Investing in early-stage businesses working to strengthen the social determinants of the health of economically disadvantaged Philadelphians.” Public companies such as health catalystCompanies that use big data to improve patient health are offering analytics designed to help harness the information.
Photo: Franky DeMeyer, Getty Images
