Enhancing Medical Students’ Understanding of Team-Based Care to Address Social Determinants of Health: A Case-Based Experience

Abstract

Background and objectives: Social and structural factors play a critical role in driving inequitable health outcomes, resulting in the need for undergraduate medical education to include important care components such as team-based care to address social determinants of health. Research shows that learning strategies such as case-based initiatives are valuable opportunities to impact knowledge of population health, health disparities, and social determinants that impact care. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a clinical case-based experience on medical students' self-efficacy and future intent to use the team-based care necessary to address social determinants of health. Methods: We used a retrospective analysis of program data from 640 third-year medical students who engaged in a case-based experience and small-group debriefing around the impact of team-based care and social determinants of health on patient care during their family medicine clerkship between July 2020 and April 2022. Results: We found a statistically significant improvement in students' reported self-efficacy and intent to collaborate with other health care workers (team-based care) to address patient care needs in rural and urban underserved community settings. Conclusions: Our students reported that a case-based experience coupled with a small-group debriefing was an effective method for teaching them how to use a team-based approach to address social determinants of health.