Assessing the Need for Mental Health Screenings in a Student-Run Free Clinic and a Family Medicine Office

Background: The US Preventive Services Task Force provides strong evidence that early screening helps identify depression in primary care settings, promotes intervention, and facilitates treatment. The Rowan Community Health Clinic (RCHC) in Lindenwold, NJ is a student-run free clinic who serves patients regardless of patient gender, race, income or insurance status. This study aims to determine if there is a need to build internal infrastructure at RCHC for depression and anxiety management. Methods: This is an IRB-approved study that began in June 2021. Data was collected from Rowan Community Health Center and Rowan Family Medicine patients. Patients were administered mental health screenings using the GAD-2/GAD-7 and PHQ-2/PHQ-9. Results: No significant difference in prevalence of minimal or mild-to-severe depression or anxiety based on income above or below the poverty line, insurance status, status of established care with a primary care physician, gender, primary language spoken, or location of care. Conclusions: At this time, the data is showing a snapshot of our ongoing study. Therefore, we can capture current proportions of patients with specific mental health screening scores, but we cannot draw any significant conclusions at this time. In the future, data should continue to be collected at both the RCHC and Family Medicine offices utilizing the GAD-2/GAD-7 and PHQ-2/PHQ-9

Effects of Income and Language on Health Literacy: A Study Between a Student-Run Free Clinic and a Family Medicine Office

Background: Over one-third of the US population exhibit limited health literacy, leading to negative health outcomes and lifestyle choices. By employing the NVS assessment, RCHC sought to compare the health literacy levels of uninsured patients at their facility with those of insured patients at the Rowan Family Medicine office in Hammonton, NJ. This study aimed to assess specific factors that may influence health literacy levels. Methods: This is an IRB-approved study which surveyed patients enrolled at the RCHC and Rowan Family Medicine Office between February 2021 and March 2023. Patients were given a nutrition label and verbally answered the NVS Assessment. Data was recorded via Qualtrics forms, and analysis was conducted with Fisher’s Exact Test in IBM SPSS Statistics. Results: A statistically significant increase in prevalence of limited literacy compared to adequate literacy among patients below the poverty line (p=0.038) and Spanish speaking patients (p=0.041). No significant difference between limited literacy and adequate literacy based on location of care, insurance status, gender, or education level. Conclusions: Income below the poverty line and Spanish as a primary language played a significant role in health literacy in our patient population. Since limited health literacy is highly prevalent in the US, it is important that physicians allot more time to explain medical terms to patients whose primary language is not English or who are from a low socioeconomic status. In the future, the RCHC hopes to design and implement a health literacy course for patients