What Are We Missing? SEEKing Expanded Support for Health-Related Social Needs

Psychosocial screening is inconsistently administered in pediatric primary care and rarely includes older children. This cross-sectional study compares screening outcomes from and interventions related to expanded use of the safe environment for every kid (SEEK) approach in children aged 0 to 17 versus the usual application to families with children under 5. Caregivers (N = 450) of children aged 0 to 17 years completed screening between April and December 2021. Screening results were compared across 3 age categories (0-5, 6-11, and 12-17) using the exact binomial method and Fisher’s exact test. The prevalence of problems was similar across all age groups except for stress (P < .001) and substance misuse (P = .002). Publicly insured families had higher rates of identified problems versus privately insured families for stress (P = .035) and partner violence (P = .031). Interventions for positive screens were offered for 61% of participants. Expanded SEEK screening enables increased detection of social needs and offerings of resources for all ages and insurance types.