Community-Clinical Integration in the Connecticut Medicaid Context

Abstract

It is well established that interventions that address social determinants of health (SDHs) are an optimal strategy to improve health equity, however the efficacy of these interventions is limited by the challenges of addressing SDHs in clinical care. As a result, building linkages between clinical providers and community-based providers of social services, formally known as community-clinical integration, is crucial to helping vulnerable populations achieve holistic, long-term health. Our team employed a mixed-methods design to understand community-clinical integration in the Connecticut Medicaid context. We conducted a realist literature review to identify models of community-clinical integration throughout the United States. We supplemented our literature review with 7 semi-structured interviews with staff from federally qualified health centers to identify best practices for and barriers to integrating community-based services into clinical care. Using insights gained from our literature review and qualitative interviews, we provide a set of recommendations to improve community-clinical integration implementation for Medicaid enrolled children and families throughout Connecticut.https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/ysph_pbchrr/1025/thumbnail.jp