Linking Emergency Department Patients to Assistance Programs Study (LEAP)
Social Determinants of Health
About this trial
This is an interventional health services research trial for Social Determinants of Health
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria: Patients will be included in the study based on the following criteria: Adults at least 18 years of age Patients must legally reside in Philadelphia Patients receiving care from Penn Medicine Emergency Departments at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Presbyterian Medical Centerwho are deemed unlikely to require inpatient hospitalization or observation at the time of enrollment Patients must have one of the following insurance plans: Medicaid and/or Medicare (managed and traditional). Patient must be able to read/write in English. Patients must be eligible for at least 1 of the benefits programs for which BDT can provide either direct application assistance or provide a referral to the social services agency website to submit applications. Patients have a stable mobile phone number for the next 3 weeks. Exclusion Criteria: Patients will be excluded from participating in the study based on the following criteria: Individuals < 18 years Patients deemed by ED physicians to be in critical or unstable condition Does not speak/read English Patient is in severe distress, e.g., respiratory, physical, or emotional distress Patient is intoxicated, unconscious, or unable to appropriately respond to questions Patients under police custody Patients with a positive COVID-19 test Patients with private health insurance benefits or without health insurance Patients without a stable mobile phone number for the next 21 days
Sites / Locations
- University of Pennsylvania Health SystemRecruiting
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
No Intervention
Experimental
Active Control
Intervention
Participants in the control group will receive a summary flyer providing contact information for benefits enrollment navigators at BenePhilly, which includes a unique study phone line provided by Benefits Data Trust. Currently, the standard of care is for ED patients to receive no information about public benefits. Therefore, the flyer represents an augmentation of usual care for patients randomized to the control group.
Participants in the intervention arm will receive a summary flyer providing contact information for benefits enrollment navigators at BenePhilly and will be instructed that study personnel will contact them one-day post-discharge to help connect them to a BDT enrollment navigator to help them submit their applications for public benefits. At Day 1 post-discharge, participants in the intervention group will receive a text message to prompt them to call the BDT enrollment navigators to complete their applications for public benefits they screened for while in the ED. On Day 3, patients will receive a follow-up message to assess whether they have contacted BDT. Those participants who indicate they have not yet connected with BDT on Day 3 will receive reminder text messages at Day 7 and 14 post-discharge.