Degree Name
Nursing Practice, DNP
Publication Date
4-20-2026
First Advisor
Lisa Drake
Second Advisor
Paige Wimberley
Abstract
Social determinants of health (SDOH), including housing instability, food insecurity, transportation barriers, and interpersonal violence, significantly influence maternal outcomes and contribute to disparities such as preterm birth and maternal morbidity. Despite national recommendations for universal SDOH screening, implementation in prenatal care remains inconsistent, limiting opportunities to identify and address social needs. The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) quality improvement project was to implement and evaluate a standardized SDOH screening and documentation process to improve referral completion and examine its impact on hospital readmissions among obstetric patients. Guided by Bronfenbrenner’s Socio-Ecological Model and the Plan-Do-Study-Act framework, the project evaluated documentation compliance, referral completion, and readmission outcomes. A quasi-experimental pre–post design was conducted in a perinatal service center within a large urban health system. A validated six-item SDOH screening tool was integrated into the electronic health record, and interdisciplinary staff (n = 5) received targeted education on screening, documentation, and referral workflows. Data were retrospectively collected from 124 patient charts. Results demonstrated a significant association between SDOH documentation and referral completion (χ²(1) = 29.77, p < .001) though no statistically significant relationship was found between documentation and hospital readmissions (χ²(1) = 2.83, p = .093). These findings support that standardized SDOH screening enhances identification of social needs and strengthens referral processes, advancing equitable, patient-centered maternal care and supporting sustainable practice change in prenatal settings.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Morgen, Shannon, "Quality Improvement Project Enhancing Maternal Health Outcomes: Evaluating the Impact of Universal Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Screening in an Interdisciplinary Pregnancy Care Model" (2026). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 315.
https://arch.astate.edu/dnp-projects/315
