The Deep South Surgical Equity Research Network: Addressing Socioecological Determinants of Health

Rationale: Older African Americans undergoing surgery are a vulnerable and growing population at high risk for poor surgical outcomes and disparities. Few programs have focused on this population due to a fragmented understanding of the needs of this population.

Objectives: While socioecological determinants of health (SEDOH) such as health literacy and socioeconomic status are known drivers of surgical disparities, an estimated 36-47% of surgical disparities remains unexplained. This gap results from limitations of current clinical datasets in capturing SEDOHs. This pilot study aims to fill this gap by (i) collecting granular SEDOH data, (ii) identifying barriers to surgical care for older African Americans, and (iii) establishing a multi-institutional clinical database through a socioecological context. These findings will help understand how SEDOHs drive surgical disparities and inform development of interventions to eliminate them in elderly African Americans.

Design and Methods: Guided by the socioecological model of health, the investigators will use mixed-methods to achieve the objectives. First, the investigators will assess the acceptability and feasibility of a 58-item SEDOH survey based on the NIH PhenX toolkit. After distributing this survey to 36 elderly (≥65 years) African American patients undergoing surgery at 3 rural, UAB-affiliated hospitals (Alex-City, Greenville, Demopolis) the investigators will conduct detailed theory guided assessments of acceptability and feasibility (SA1). Second, the investigators will conduct key informant interviews of individuals from all 5 socioecological levels at each rural hospital (n=10) to identify additional barriers and facilitators to surgical care. The investigators will purposively sample 100% of participants at the patient and caregiver level (n=12) to be elderly African Americans (SA2). Finally, the investigators will link measured SEDOH data with standardized clinical data at each hospital to establish a novel database (SA3). These findings will establish a process to measure SEDOHs across the Deep South and set the foundation for a unique database to study surgical disparities.

Significance: Development of effective multilevel interventions to eliminate surgical disparities in older African Americans is dependent on a clearer understanding of the contextual drivers of these disparities. This pilot study will accelerate understanding of these mechanism(s) through SEDOHs. It will establish a process to measure SEDOHs, identify additional barriers to surgical care not captured by NIH instruments, and build the database to study these relationships. Such findings will have the potential to impact vulnerable surgical populations in the Deep South and support the Deep South RCMAR mission to promote health and optimize health outcomes for older and rural African Americans.