Pre-Conference: Mayo Clinic Health System
Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) Challenge

Wednesday, April 12, 2023
Free Competition | Application Required | Cash Prizes |Limted to 20 participants

Why an SDoH Focus?

Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) are the non-medical components of health care that account for 80% of health results. Barriers such as food and housing insecurity, transportation to appointments, prescription pick-up and education inequity have detrimental effects on a patient’s health and their ability to participate in a treatment plan. The concept of SDoH is relatively new, only being formally introduced in 2014, but it has been receiving more attention both at the policy level (e.g., Affordable Care Act, 2010) and within medical professional societies. As an Accountable Care Organization, Mayo Clinic Health System is held to a high standard related to health outcomes. Information technology is one tool that has been proposed to help understand and address how barriers to health and medical care can be overcome.

The only way we can eliminate racism and disparities in care is to better understand the challenges. Creating a national data resource on the social determinants of health is an impactful first step.

John Halamka, President, Mayo Clinic Platform

What is the Mayo Clinic Health System SDoH Challenge?

This pre-conference competition, sponsored by Mayo Clinic Health System and Medical College of Wisconsin, places students into teams of five that will create a proposal for actions that address SDoH to improve health and health outcomes within Mayo Clinic. Many, perhaps most, solutions that ultimately address problems related to SDoH are likely to come from outside the world of traditional science of biomedical health care. Undergraduate students, by definition, lack this background and thus may be more able to innovate. Teams will be formed with an emphasis on geography, age, and study diversity and provided with the following:

• Accepted participants will be sent basic introductory material in advance and an outline of the event.
• Participants will attend an overview on concepts of SDoH, provided by Dr. Corina Norrbom of the Medical College of Wisconsin and Dr. Andrew Calvin of Mayo Clinic Health System.
• Participants will be provided a prompt, including instructions that they have been awarded a $1 million grant to propose an initiative to improve health outcomes of Mayo Clinic Health System community of patients through efforts aimed at SDoH.
• Participants will be given access to a large, real-world database, along with guidance on how to access the data.
• Participants will be given access to additional content experts, including an epidemiologist, social worker, etc.
• Participants will be provided with a scribe (a UWEC Blugold Biomedical Innovator scholar) to assist in rapidly preparing a bare-bones presentation.

Participants will have 2 hours to prepare a proposal for a panel of judges. Feedback will be provided, and members of the top scoring team will each be recognized and awarded a 1,000 scholarship each. After completion of the competition, staff and students will enjoy a luncheon together with opportunities for casual conversation and further learning and networking with Mayo Clinic Health System staff.

How this Works

• During abstract submission, interested students will indicate their interest in the Mayo Clinic Health System SDoH Challenge with a brief explanation of the student's interest in SDoH factors. Abstracts are accepted Oct. 3, 2022 – December 3, 2022. 
• Students must be registered for NCUR 2023 by Feb. 28, 2023.
• 20 participants (and alternates) will be chosen from the applicants. Selected participants can expect to receive notification of selection and specific details for the Mayo Clinic Health System SDoH Challenge by March 15, 2023.
• Selected participants must confirm attendance by April 1, 2023. Alternatives will be offered a spot if participants do not confirm by the deadline.
• Selected participants will compete in the Mayo Clinic Health System SDoH Challenge on Wednesday, April 12, 2023. Winners will be recognized.
• All Mayo Clinic Health System SDoH Challenge participants will attend the luncheon on Wednesday, April 12, 2023.

Mayo Clinic Health System SDoH Challenge Schedule

Wednesday, April 12, 2023
7:30 a.m. |  Arrive at Mayo Clinic Health System - Luther Campus Hospital | 1221 Whipple St., Eau Claire, WI 54703 (transportation on your own)
7:45-8 a.m. | Greetings and Introductions
8-9 a.m. | Overview of SDoH Challenge
9-11 a.m. | SDoH Proposals Created
11-11:45 a.m. | SDoH proposals Presented
12-1 p.m. | Lunch and Awards

Abstract submission window has closed 

Share