ArticleBMC primary care2023
Screening for poverty and related social determinants to improve knowledge of and links to resources (SPARK): development and cognitive testing of a tool for primary care.
Article in BMC primary care, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed.
- Trial
- Examining healthcare staff views and experiences with equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in a multi-disciplinary healthcare setting: A mixed methods needs assessment to advance inclusive excellence.Health services management research · 2026Article
- Collecting Accurate and Robust Equity (CARE) data: an analysis of a pilot quality improvement initiative in ambulatory settings.BMJ open quality · 2026Article
- Implementing the screening for poverty and related social determinants and intervening to improve knowledge of and links to resources (SPARK) in primary care clinics across Canada.Family practice · 2026Article
- Primary care provider and clinic staff perspectives on the collection of demographic and social needs data in primary care clinics across five Canadian provinces.Family medicine and community health · 2026Article
- Identifying social prescribing core outcomes using a Delphi approach: findings and future directions.Health promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada : research, policy and practice · 2026Article
- Advancing Health Equity Through Primary Care: Protocol for the Spread, Scale, and Multimethod Developmental Evaluation of the Deep End Canada Network.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- Testing regular expression searches and machine learning models to determine housing instability and low income status from primary care electronic medical record data in Toronto, Ontario.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Integration of Screening and Referral Tools for Social Determinants of Health and Modifiable Lifestyle Factors in the Epic Electronic Health Record System: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Article
- Addressing the inverse care law in Scottish general practice: systematic scoping review.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2025Article
- Collecting Data on the Social Determinants of Health to Advance Health Equity in Cancer Care in Canada: Patient and Community Perspectives.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2025Article
- Perspectives on Using Artificial Intelligence to Derive Social Determinants of Health Data From Medical Records in Canada: Large Multijurisdictional Qualitative Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Development of the 10-question household foodwork interactional assessment questionnaire (FIA-Q10).The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
18 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundHealthcare organizations are increasingly exploring ways to address the social determinants of health. Accurate data on social determinants is essential to identify opportunities for action to improve health outcomes, to identify patterns of inequity, and to help evaluate the impact of interventions. The objective of this study was to refine a standardized tool for the collection of social determinants data through cognitive testing.
methodsAn initial set of questions on social determinants for use in healthcare settings was developed by a collaboration of hospitals and a local public health organization in Toronto, Canada during 2011-2012. Subsequent research on how patients interpreted the questions, and how they performed in primary care and other settings led to revisions. We administered these questions and conducted in-depth cognitive interviews with all the participants, who were from Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Cognitive interviewing was used, with participants invited to verbalize thoughts and feelings as they read the questions. Interview notes were grouped thematically, and high frequency themes were addressed.
resultsThree hundred and seventy-five individuals responded to the study advertisements and 195 ultimately participated in the study. Although all interviews were conducted in English, participants were diverse. For many, the value of this information being collected in typical healthcare settings was unclear, and hence, we included descriptors for each question. In general, the questions were understood, but participants highlighted a number of ways the questions could be changed to be even clearer and more inclusive. For example, more response options were added to the question of sexual orientation and the "making ends meet" question was completely reworded in light of challenges to understand the informal phrasing cited by English as a Second Language (ESL) users of the tool.
conclusionIn this work we have refined an initial set of 16 sociodemographic and social needs questions into a simple yet comprehensive 18-question tool. The changes were largely related to wording, rather than content. These questions require validation against accepted, standardized tools. Further work is required to enable community data governance, and to ensure implementation of the tool as well as the use of its data is successful in a range of organizations.
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Registered trials
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