A study published Oct. 6 in JAMA Open Network found landlords are more likely to improve poor housing conditions when provided a note from a pediatrician note compared to other avenues.
Researchers screened 2,480 families using an electronic health record-based social determinants of health screening and a referral model between April and December 2019 at three urban hospital-based pediatric primary care centers in New York.
Of the 2,480 participants, 233 (9 percent) experienced poor conditions and 127 requested and received pediatrician notes to give to their landlords to improve housing conditions. Ninety-six families completed the follow-up phone survey between June and December 2019.
Key findings:
- Thirty-one of the 35 families that reported giving landlords the pediatrician notes reported the landlord acting to resolve the issue
- Twenty-six families reported complete resolution to the issue.
Researchers noted limitations of this study included selection bias, response bias, and being a single-center study with a small sample size. They added the study was not designed to assess whether families who did not receive the letter had resolution of their conditions.