UB iSDoH Scale—A Measure of Students’ Skills Related to Social Determinants of Health and Interprofessional Collaborative Practice

Identification and mitigation of health barriers associated with social determinants of health (SDoH) is an increasingly recognized as an important component of heathcare provided by interprofessional teams. However, valid and reliable tools for assessing healthcare provider SDoH competency are lacking. This study describes the development of the University at Buffalo interprofessional SDoH scale (UB iSDoH scale) and examines its psychometric properties. This 11-item self-report instrument measures perceived skills associated with SDoH assessment and solution implementation to mitigate barriers using an interprofessional approach. Dose-response sensitivity to content and experience was examined, as well as the predictive capacity of a 1-item reflective question. The UB iSDoH scale was completed by 1,775 health professions students during Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 semesters following interprofessional learning experiences. Our analyses confirmed that the UB iSDoH scale 1) exhibited high inter-item reliability, 2) was sensitive to both the extent of SDoH content in IP learning experiences and students’ previous experiences, and that 3) the reflective question was predictive of the overall scale score. These findings indicate that the UB iSDoH scale is a valid and reliable measure to assess health professions students’ perceived skills associated with SDoH assessment and solution implementation using an interprofessional approach.