TABLE 2.
Mixed methods reporting of Z‐code use
| Category | Z‐code | # of possible codes | Examples of codes | Codes used (n, %) a | # of times Z‐code used | # unique patients | Summary of qualitative findings | Congruency between quantitative and qualitative data |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | Z56 | 12 | Unemployment, sexual harassment on the job; change of job | 0 (0%) | 0 | 0 | No provider mention of patient needs related to employment | yes |
| Adequate and safe housing and economic circumstances | Z59 | 10 | Homelessness; lack of adequate food; extreme poverty | 1 (10%) | 4 | 3 | Among the most frequently observed social need “…lack of housing or they could have like housing situation unstable. So those are the main things that we see as inpatient.” | no |
| Education and literacy | Z55 | 7 | Illiteracy; underachievement in school; schooling unavailable | 0 (0%) | 0 | 0 |
Several providers mentioned health literacy needs “Some people have a low health literacy.” |
no |
| Social environment | Z60 | 7 | Acculturation difficulty; social exclusion and rejection; target of discrimination | 4 (57.1%) | 264 | 121 | No mention of provider of patient needs related to the social environment | no |
| Primary support group | Z63 | 14 | Death of family member; absence of family member; problems in relationship with spouse or partner | 3 (21.4%) | 257 | 231 | No mention of provider of patient needs related to primary support group | no |
| Problems related to other psychosocial circumstances | Z65 | 8 | Imprisonment; victim of crime and terrorism; | 5 (62.5%) | 1565 | 781 | No mention of provider of patient needs related to other psychosocial circumstances | no |
| Problems related to upbringing | Z62 | 24 | Child in welfare; history of physical and sexual abuse; parent–child conflict | 1 (4.2%) | 57 | 33 | Several providers mentioned child neglect and reporting procedures “…a lot of our kids get neglected. So we do hotline a lot… it is not to be mean to these people, sometimes it's to keep these kids alive.” | yes |
| Total | 82 | NA | 14 (17.1%) | 2147 | 1019 b | NA | NA |
a
Percentage is calculated as the number of codes used divided by the total number of possible codes in the category.
b
Number reflects total number of unique patients who had a Z‐code. Since some participants had more than one Z‐code this is not a sum of row values.