Graduation Semester and Year
Fall 2026
Language
English
Document Type
DNP Project
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Department
Nursing
First Advisor
Dianne Ross
Abstract
Obesity is a complex chronic condition disproportionately affecting marginalized populations, with outcomes heavily influenced by Social Determinants of Health (SDoH). In primary care, a lack of standardized SDoH screening often leaves critical social barriers unrecognized, hindering lifestyle modification and weight management efforts. This quality improvement project evaluated implementing the standardized Core-5 SDoH screening tool in adult patients (BMI ≥ 30) during obesity management visits over eight weeks. Before implementation, we independently verified local community resources to confirm active capacity. The project increased the standardized screening completion rate from 0% to 100% (n = 77) among eligible encounters. Of the 77 patients screened, 17 (22.1%) identified at least one social need. Among those with identified needs, 94.1% (n = 16) received documented referrals to verified community resources spanning food, housing, transportation, and utility assistance. Weight data was collected as a secondary finding, though the timeframe was insufficient to measure clinical BMI reduction. The findings demonstrate that integrating validated SDoH screening into primary care workflows is highly feasible and bridges the critical gap between identifying social barriers and providing actionable, equitable community support.
Keywords
Social determinants of health, Obesity, Primary care, Core-5, Quality improvement, Community referrals
Disciplines
Family Practice Nursing | Public Health and Community Nursing
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Webster, Janessa, "Standardized SDoH Screening to Improve Obesity Management in Primary Care" (2026). Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects. 32.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/nursing_dnpprojects2/32