Prevalence of social risk factors among hospitalized patients with disabilities

Abstract

Disability and social risk factors remain understudied among hospitalized patients, despite known associations with poor outcomes. This research aimed to describe social risks among hospitalized patients with disability (PWD) to better inform patient‐centered care. We screened adult patients admitted to general medicine services at a large, urban academic medical center for social risks and chronic disability. We examined patients with and without self‐reported disability, stratified by demographic characteristics and social risk. Compared with patients who did not report disability, PWD reported more social risks. When examined by disability type, patients with visual, dressing/bathing, and communication‐related disabilities were more likely to report transportation barriers than patients with disabilities unrelated to those domains. More patients who reported a learning disability also reported housing instability, when compared with patients with disabilities unrelated to learning. Co‐occurrence of disability and social risks are significant and warrant further examination as barriers to delivery of high‐quality care.