University of Florida Health has launched an ambitious project to minimize the health risk of pregnancy by identifying, addressing and tracking social determinants of health that can threaten a mother and baby's health.
The project will create a patient electronic dashboard that could flag social needs early in pregnancy to prevent the health-threatening stress they pose. Those social determinants include housing and food insecurity, transportation, stress and financial strain.
The aim is to match mothers in need with the appropriate health system and community resources to address these stressors, said project leader Adetola F. Louis-Jacques, M.D., an assistant professor in the UF College of Medicine's department of obstetrics and gynecology.
"It is an integral part of care to have a full sense of a person and their needs," said Louis-Jacques, a faculty member of the UF Health Maternal-Fetal Medicine program. "This is an opportunity to respectfully engage the community to find solutions. That can be a powerful thing."
