Barriers to Care Encounter: A Model That Empowers Underserved Populations and Promotes Cross-Cultural Preparedness in Medical Students.

Introduction: While identifying and interacting with patients adversely impacted by social determinants of health (SDoH) and related barriers to care is essential in medical education, current educational models lack meaningful patient involvement and feedback. This project aims to implement an activity focused on barriers to care that incorporates and empowers representative standardized patients (SPs) to share their lived experiences with students. Methods: Forty-five first- and second-year preclinical medical students participated in a 90-minute intervention including a lecture; a prebrief; a simulated clinical encounter with a patient who was nonadherent to treatment because of a financial, social, or cultural barrier; and a debrief. All SPs had personal experiences with barriers to care. This intervention was implemented in January and October of 2024 and evaluated via analysis of pre- and postencounter Likert surveys that were administered to students. Results: In January, statistical analysis of pre- and postsurveys indicated a significant increase in participants' reported ability to elicit a comprehensive history and enhance patient adherence ( Discussion: The Barriers to Care Encounter was effective in increasing student knowledge, skills, and attitudes on addressing SDoH in clinical practice while allowing medical students to engage with representative patient populations. Future directions include performing qualitative analyses of SP feedback and comparing impact of representative SP encounters to nonrepresentative SP encounters.