New publication in Health Expectations: Assessing unmet social needs in multiple sclerosis care in Australia

Our new paper "Assessing Unmet Social Needs in Multiple Sclerosis Care in Australia: A Qualitative Assessment of Feasibility, Barriers and Enablers" published in Health Expectations is available to read now.

Led by Megan Hawkins and A/Prof Claudia Marck, this paper examines how unmet social needs, including housing, transport and social inclusion, are currently assessed in Australian MS clinical care, and what would be needed to do this more effectively.

People with MS experience a wide range of social needs that significantly affect their health outcomes, yet this study found that social needs assessment in Australian MS care is inconsistent and largely unstructured. Drawing on focus groups and interviews with clinicians and people with lived experience of MS, the study identified key barriers, including gaps in clinicians’ knowledge of available referral pathways and insufficient resourcing, as well as important enablers, such as strong patient–clinician rapport and a shared desire for more coordinated, holistic care. A social needs screening tool was considered acceptable by participants, conditional on adequate resourcing and a design that ensures identified needs can be meaningfully addressed.

This new publication marks an important step towards developing a co-designed screening tool and supporting referral resources to identify and address unmet social needs in MS care, with the aim of improving health outcomes and reducing health inequalities for people with MS in Australia.

Read the paper here.

For more Information, contact A/Prof Claudia Marck.