Does Information about Members’ Social Determinants of Health Improve Prediction of Risk for Hospitalization, Emergency Department Visits, and Outpatient Utilization?

The new Kaiser Permanente Your Current Life Situation (YCLS) screening questionnaire will be mailed to a random sample of 7,000 adult members of Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC), oversampling patients at low to medium risk for hospitalization. After receiving responses, YCLS data will be linked with existing variables known to be predictors of utilization, including age, sex, COPS2 (COmorbidity Point Score, version 2), abLAPS (abbreviated Laboratory-based Acute Physiology Score), other composite indices currently available in KPNC electronic databases, and U.S. census-derived socioeconomic status data. The linked data will be analyzed to determine the extent to which the YCLS data improves prediction of hospitalization, emergency department use, and total outpatient utilization, and, if improvement in prediction is found after incorporating YCLS data, which specific items from the YCLS have the greatest impact. Responses to the YCLS survey, weighted to the adult membership, will also be used to estimate prevalence of KPNC adult members’ social and economic needs.

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