In This Post:
Presenters:
Robin Lloyd
Chief Product Officer
Nolanna Carthen-Simon, LPC
Care Navigator
In the U.S. alone, 45% of adults across all income levels have at least one unmet need, ranging from food security to social support for loneliness.
This highlights the importance of understanding and addressing the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH), sometimes referred to as the Social Drivers of Health, to achieve mental health equity. Workplaces must create supportive and inclusive environments that prioritize mental well-being for all employees.
Last week, we had the pleasure of hosting Robin Lloyd, Chief Product Officer, and Nolanna Carthen-Simon, LPC, Care Navigator at Spring Health, for an important conversation about championing mental health equity in the workplace. Our panelists discussed ways to recognize and address disparities in mental health access and care, offering actionable insights to empower organizations to create positive change.
What is mental health equity?
According to the CDC, mental health equity means everyone has a fair opportunity to attain their highest level of mental health and well-being, regardless of age, race, job, location, or identity. While genetics and lifestyle do play roles in health outcomes, their impact is often overestimated. Some studies find social needs influence up to 80% of our health and well-being. These needs, known as the Social Determinants of Health, include food and housing security, quality income or work, access to affordable healthcare, freedom from discrimination, and more.
Health and productivity suffer when needs are not met
There is a profound connection between social, physical, and mental health. Individuals with unmet social needs are:
- 2.5 times more likely to report poor physical health
- 5 times more likely to report mental health issues
- 2 times more likely to report higher healthcare utilization
- 2.4 times more likely to have missed over 6 days of work in the past 12 months
Given the health and productivity implications of SDoH, how can your clients build a supportive and inclusive workplace culture that accounts for various lived experiences? That’s where Spring Health comes in.
About Spring Health
Spring Health is a leading global mental health solution, proven to change lives and deliver a net-positive financial return for organizations. Through Spring Health’s Precision Mental Healthcare, individuals and families receive personalized interventions and compassionate, culturally responsive mental health care.
Certified by the Validation Institute for demonstrating net savings for customers, Spring Health also equips global business leaders with intelligent technology, real-time insights, and clinical expertise to support diverse and evolving organizational needs.
Spring Health solutions
Spring Health partners with your clients to champion mental health equity for everyone.
They deliver equitable mental health outcomes to more than 10 million diverse members through:
- Precise matching to diverse, high-quality global providers
- Culturally responsive, localized support
- Affordability and cost transparency
- Deep partnerships for complex care (such as substance use disorders and eating disorders)
- Improving outcomes by addressing social determinants of health
Addressing the social determinants of health
Spring Health’s new Community Care solution addresses the social and economic factors that impact mental health, furthering its dedication to mental health equity.
With the launch of the new solution, over 500,000 vetted community resources—including food banks, government programs, and non-profit organizations—have been integrated into the Spring Health platform. From a single location, individuals and their families can receive high-quality mental health care and connect to local resources to meet their basic needs.
The experience starts with a new question in the mental health assessment that proactively screens individuals for nine types of social needs, including housing, transportation, utility bill assistance, and social support. Individuals can then browse their personalized recommendations of community resources tailored to their zip code and the needs they identified in the assessment.
They also have the option to browse a broad spectrum of resources that span across every county in the United States. When an individual selects a resource, they can request to be contacted or can contact the community organization directly.
Community care advocates
While Spring Health’s self-serve functionality is exceptional, some individuals need additional support. To address this, Spring Health has created multiple pathways to provide members with necessary resources while maintaining their privacy.
Community Care Advocates are mental health professionals who are locally based and have an intimate knowledge of the local social services infrastructure.
They provide one-on-one support and group employee education, in person or virtually, to:
- Promote community resources and reduce stigma
- Help with resource eligibility questions and application submissions
- Facilitate follow up with community-based organizations, when necessary
Sessions with these individuals can be booked directly through the Spring Health platform.
Insightful reporting you can trust
Spring Health is developing a comprehensive solution to address both social and mental health needs, recognizing the strong connection between the two. Their goal is to provide a clear picture of how social determinants of health impact your workforce through detailed reporting.
Clients with Community Care will receive data on how many of their employees are screening positive for an unmet social need, categorized by type. Additionally, the reports will show how many employees engaged with a resource and ultimately received a service from that resource, known as a closed-loop referral.
The reports will also track if engaging in the solution impacts individuals’ clinical, productivity, or absenteeism results.
Get in touch with Spring Health today!
If you’d like to learn more about Spring Health’s mental health equity solutions and comprehensive mental health solutions, reach out to their Strategic Alliances team at SA@springhealth.com.
In case you missed it: Log in to access the full Meet A Vendor Presentation!
Not a subscriber? Request access.
Did you find this article interesting?
Don’t keep this knowledge to yourself – share it on your social media channels and spark engaging conversations!