Advancing Policy to Address Social Determinants of Health

SDOH span multiple domains of a person’s life and include many individual, community, and systems-level factors that are linked to poor health. With many emerging policy initiatives designed to address SDOH, the client sought to determine how it could target its engagement for maximum positive impact across patient populations with specific chronic conditions. 

Part 1: Determine the most impactful SDOH within the patient populations of interest 

For each selected chronic condition, we conducted targeted research to identify which SDOH were most prevalent (e.g., food insecurity, lack of housing, transportation).  

Part 2: Identify federal, state, and local initiatives designed to address SDOH 

We identified current policies and proposed solutions to address these specific social risk factors for people with chronic conditions. We also evaluated policies aimed at addressing SDOH more broadly that could have an impact on people with chronic conditions. We then identified gaps in existing efforts as well as possible opportunities for manufacturer engagement. 

Part 3: Prioritize policy areas 

We convened working sessions to help the client refine its policy goals and prioritize areas for engagement based on key factors, including the potential impact of successful engagement on patient outcomes and the likelihood of achieving target milestones.  

Part 4: Develop engagement roadmap  

For prioritized policy areas, we created a detailed roadmap to guide advocacy and partnership strategy over a 3-year period. The roadmap included steps to identify potential partners, gaps in existing evidence generation, and upcoming opportunities to influence policymakers. 

This project enabled our client to prioritize focus areas internally across different functional groups. Our roadmap has transformed the client’s approach to SDOH policy engagement, outlining clear next steps in the client’s SDOH impact strategy and identifying stakeholders that could serve as key partners in that strategy’s execution.