NJ SDOH Hackathon 2023

With guidance from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), Cooper University Health Care hosted its inaugural Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Hackathon event. This event brought together stakeholders from across New Jersey to look at ways in which health IT could improve the lives of those in underserved communities.

This initiative not only brought together IT and healthcare professionals, but also benefitted from contributions from others with concentrations in various fields such as social work, education, housing, nutrition, workforce development, law, and business. There was opportunity for inventors, investors, and entrepreneurs to connect with each other to collaborate and create solutions to help bridge the social divide using health IT.

Registration opened in September giving participants the opportunity to virtually connect and form teams. Educational training sessions were provided on a weekly basis during the virtual event. Session topics included "Understanding Provided Data," "A Comprehensive View of SDOH," and "General Q&A on Pitch Decks." 

The event concluded with presentations, competition, and the awards event, which was held in Camden, New Jersey on Friday, November 10, 2023. An expert judging panel decided the winners who received financial awards as well as access to technical, financial, and research support.

The Winning Teams

Baron Rides - Community Carpooling Service

Team: Lauwinda Cherilus, Pietra Oliveira, and Leonardo Vargas, Tech

Essex County College Dream Team - Digital Literacy for Seniors

Team: Oscar Obochi, Grace Anthony, Teresa Cadet, Stephen Frimpong, Louis Paul, and Hajara Sulley

Cooper IT Team - Vertical Hydroponic Farms

Team: Tyree Guinn, Jorge da Costa, and Tam Nguyen

Team Healthcode - Symptom Tracker App

Team: Margaret Snyder, Brent Cubbage, Santos Herrere-Lopez, and Joe Huntenburg

 

Background Information on the Hackathon

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines social determinants of health as "life-enhancing resources, such as food supply, housing, economic and social relationships, transportation, education, and health care, whose distribution across populations effectively determines length and quality of life."  According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), 84% of health outcomes are attributable to a combination of factors that fall under social determinants of health.

SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH (SDOH)
Cooper University Health Care - New Jersey SDOH Hackathon 2023
Source: KFF

Category One

Category Two

Category Three

Economic Stability

Neighborhood and Physical Environment

Education

Community and Social Context

Food

Health Care System

Employment
Income

Expenses

Debt

Medical Bills 

Support

Housing

Transportation

Safety

Parks

Playgrounds

Walkability

ZIP Code/
Geography

Literacy

Language

Early Childhood Education

Vocational Training

Higher Education

Social Integration

Support Systems

Community Engagement

Discrimination

Stress

Justice-Involved*

Hunger

Access to Healthy Options

Health Coverage

Provider Availability

Provider Linguistic and Cultural Competency

Quality of Care

 

HEALTH OUTCOMES

Mortality, Morbidity, Life Expectancy, Health Care Expenditures, Health Status, Functional Limitations

* Addition from CUHC

 

NJ SDOH Hackathon 2024

Information will be available soon.