Assessing Social Determinants of Health
Healthcare and homelessness are inextricably linked; homelessness is a social problem with enormous public health significance. It may exacerbate medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, or addiction, or those conditions may weaken a person’s financial stability and become a risk factor for homelessness.As a case manager, you are in a unique position to assess social determinants of health impacting your clients. Identifying risk factors that may increase your client’s potential of homelessness helps you to proactively engage strategies to reduce the risk. It is nearly always easier to prevent the problem than to try to rectify it later.