The experiences of community organizations partnering with a medical school to improve students’ understanding of the social determinants of health: A qualitative study

Abstract

Purpose

There has been increasing interest among national organizations for medical schools to provide students experiential training in the social determinants of health (SDH) through community partnerships. Despite this interest, there is limited data about how these experiential activities can be designed most effectively, and community organizations’ views of partnering with medical schools on these curricula is unknown. The authors’ objective was to determine community organizations’ and clinical clerkship directors’ perceptions of the benefits and challenges of utilizing academic-community partnerships to improve medical students’ understanding of the SDH.

Methods

The authors conducted a qualitative study consisting of open-ended, semi-structured interviews (between 2018 and 2021). All community organizations and clinical clerkship directors who partnered with a health equity curriculum were eligible to participate. Semi-structured interviews elicited participants’ perceptions of the academic-community partnership; experience with the curriculum and the students; and recommendations for improving the curriculum. All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. The authors used a directed content analysis approach to code the interviews inductively and identified emerging themes through an iterative process.

Results

Of the fifteen participants interviewed, ten were from community organizations and five from clinical clerkships. Three primary themes emerged: (1) community organizations felt educating students about the SDH aligned with the organization’s mission and they benefited from consistent access to volunteers; (2) students benefited through greater exposure to the SDH; (3) participants suggested standardizing students’ experiences, ensuring the students and organizations are clear about the goals and expectations, and working with organizations that have experience with or the capacity for a large volume of volunteers as ways to improve the experiential activity.

Conclusion

This study found that community organizations were very willing to partner with a medical school to provide students experiential learning about the SDH, and this partnership was beneficial for both the students and the organizations.

Keywords:

• Medical education
• social determinants of health
• vulnerable populations
• clinical clerkships
• health equity

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Milena Duque for her assistance with data collection and analysis. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. The funding sources did not have any role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the article for publication.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Additional information

Funding

Research supported in part by the Qualitative and Patient-Reported Outcomes Developing Shared Resource of the Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center’s NCI Cancer Center Support [Grant P30CA012197] and the Wake Forest Clinical and Translational Science Institute’s NCATS [Grant UL1TR001420]. This study was supported by a grant from the Fullerton Foundation [grant number 668899]. Dr. Palakshappa is supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number K23HL146902.

Notes on contributors

Deepak Palakshappa

Deepak Palakshappa, MD MSHP, is an Assistant Professor, Departments of Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Epidemiology and Prevention, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Medical Center Blvd, Winston-Salem, NC 27157.

Nancy Denizard-Thompson

Nancy Denizard-Thompson, MD, is an Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Medical Center Blvd, Winston-Salem, NC 27157.

Nicole Puccinelli-Ortega

Nicole Puccinelli-Ortega, MS, is a Senior Clinical Research Manager, Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC.

Amber Brooks

Amber Brooks, MD, is an Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Medical Center Blvd, Winston-Salem, NC 27157.

Amanda Damman

Amanda Damman, BS, is a Project Coordinator, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC.

David P. Miller

David P. Miller Jr., MD MS, is a Professor, Department of Internal Medicine and Implementation Science, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Medical Center Blvd, Winston-Salem, NC 27157.