A narrative review of social determinants of health education in health professional programs and potential pathways for integration into Doctor of Chiropractic programs.

Abstract

Objectives: To conduct a narrative review of the literature pertaining to strategies employed by health professional programs to teach social determinants of health (SDOH) and use the results to describe pathways for integrating SDOH education into Doctor of Chiropractic programs (DCPs).

Methods: A narrative review of peer-reviewed literature describing SDOH education in health professional programs within the United States was performed. The results were used to inform potential pathways of integrating SDOH education into all aspects of DCPs.

Results: Twenty-eight papers demonstrated health professional programs' incorporation of SDOH education and assessment into didactic and experiential learning opportunities. Educational interventions resulted in positive changes in knowledge and attitudes toward SDOH.

Conclusion: This review demonstrates existing methods for integrating SDOH in health professional programs. Methods may be adopted and assimilated into an existing DCP. Further research is needed to understand barriers and facilitators to the implementation of SDOH education into DCPs.