Continuing Professional Development Using Infographics Improves the Familiarity of the Social Determinants of Health

Abstract

Context Secondary school athletic trainers (ATs) may not be aware of health care delivery strategies for the social determinants of health (SDOH). Specifically, secondary school ATs have demonstrated the lowest knowledge and practice of the SDOH. Objective The purpose of this study was to determine whether infographics as a continuing professional development method changed patient-centered–care screening considerations and familiarities with the SDOH. Design Randomized controlled trial. Setting Online survey with infographic intervention. Patient or Other Participants In total, 34 participants in the intervention group and 46 participants in the control group were included for the analysis. Intervention(s) The intervention group received a different SDOH infographic weekly for 12 weeks. The control group did not receive any infographics. Main Outcome Measure(s) The survey asked participants to rate their patient-centered–care tasks, screening consideration, and familiarity with the SDOH. Results A significant change-score improvement was identified for the intervention group relative to providing whole-person health care (P = .024) and recognizing the SDOH (P ≤ .001). No statistical differences were noted for screening and practices between the groups. However, familiarity with screening for 4 SDOH areas improved for the intervention group, including access to primary care (P = .007), poverty (P = .048), environmental conditions (P = .036), and social cohesion (P = .025). Conclusion The ATs improved their familiarity with screening for some SDOH after engaging in professional development using infographics, but screening practices and considerations did not change over the course of the study.