An innovative study in ICS primary schools in Central Catalonia
A recent study carried out in the primary schools of the ICS in Central Catalonia has achieved significant progress in the inclusion of health determinants in the clinical history of patients. This work, led by CAP Santpedor nurse and researcher Berta Rodoreda, has been published in the specialist magazine Atención Primaria. Determinants of health are factors that are not diseases but can influence people’s health status, such as living conditions, family context and other social and economic aspects.
Importance of health determinants
According to Salut, several research studies have shown that health determinants can influence 89% of the population’s health. These factors, such as the economic situation or loneliness, can have a significant impact on a person’s state of health, and can even lead to the development of diseases.
Development of the registration guide for health determinants
The study, started in 2018 and completed in 2023, has included the development and implementation of a guide for recording health determinants in primary care consultations. This guide has defined 17 determinants of health and provided a tool to facilitate their recording in the digitized patient history. The main determinants recorded during the study were unwanted loneliness and financial difficulties.
Usefulness of the health determinants registration guide
The results of the study have shown that the Health Determinants Registration Guide is a valuable tool in the daily work of primary care health professionals. This guide promotes the registration of health determinants and favors a model that takes into account social and family factors in therapeutic adequacy, as well as reducing pharmacological prescription and complementing it with community health resources.
Response to the Action Plan for primary and community care
This research by ICS Catalonia Central responds to the Ministry of Health’s primary and community care action plan, which recommends the inclusion of health determinants in the digital health history.