ACR Convergence 2026 Studies Highlight Opportunities to Address Social Needs in Rheumatology Education and Care

Multiple studies examine how social and economic disparities affect access to health education, support resources, and healthcare outcomes among patients with rheumatic conditions.

ORLANDO – Three studies being presented at ACR Convergence 2026 highlight the substantial burden of health disparities associated with barriers like income/transportation, cumulative social disadvantages (CSD), and unmet social needs as some of the factors that limit access to health education and adequate care.

The first study, Beyond Geography: Social Determinants of Health Drive Disparities in Access to Health Education in Adults with Rheumatologic Conditions (Abstract 2450463), evaluates 15,739 responses to a Community Health Needs Assessment of adults with rheumatologic conditions in four U.S. states. In adjusted models, low and middle income were the strongest predictors for all barriers (transportation: aOR=3.82/2.81). Hispanic/Latina ethnicity predicted transportation barriers (aOR=2.27), while several racial/ethnic groups predicted affordability barriers (AI/AN aOR=24.10; Black aOR=2.53; Hispanic/Latina aOR=4.13).

“In order to normalize health education and make it more accessible to all, interventions should prioritize income-sensitive support that addresses social determinants of health, including transportation assistance, cost reduction, and culturally tailored navigation services,” states Titilayo Adeniran, MPH, DrPH, Senior Director of Education Scholarly Activity, Outcomes and Data Analytics at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), New York, NY. “It’s important to understand that in order for rheumatic disease patients to take advantage of educational programs and resources they must first know the offerings exist and be able to access these educational resources.”

The second study, Cumulative Social Disadvantage and Hospital Outcomes of Children and Youth with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis in the United States (Abstract 2456642), examines whether cumulative social disadvantage (CSD), measured using neighborhood income and Medicaid insurance status, is associated with longer hospital stays and greater hospitalization severity among children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). In this study 10,732 pediatric JIA-related hospitalizations were analyzed and children with the highest CSD score had longer length of stay (LOS) and greater odds of a more severe hospitalization compared with children without social disadvantage. Notably, the individual components of CSD showed weaker and less consistent associations with these outcomes, suggesting that cumulative social disadvantage may better capture inpatient vulnerability than individual socioeconomic indicators alone.

“The findings of this research suggest that cumulative social disadvantage may help identify inpatient vulnerability in ways that individual socioeconomic factors alone may not fully capture. However, there is still much work to be done to understand how these findings can be translated into clinical practice. Further research should explore how cumulative social disadvantage could be incorporated into tools to identify socially vulnerable children and guide disparity-focused interventions and targeted pediatric rheumatology care models aimed at improving outcomes,” said Carolina Tamashiro, MD, recent graduate of UCSF Pediatric Rheumatology Fellowship and now an Attending Physician at Dell Children’s Medical Center, Austin, TX.

The third study, Evaluation of Resource Utilization in a Rheumatology-Based Social Determinants of Health Screening and Navigation Program (Abstract 2452661), highlights the importance of identifying health-related social needs (HRSN) so these needs can be addressed, as they are associated with worse clinical outcomes. Patients at nine rheumatology clinics in a multihospital system completed social determinants of health (SDOH) questionnaires (6/2022–6/2025) and among 14,525 patients screened, 2,551 (18%) reported ≥1 HRSN.

“It is important to understand that clinic-based SDOH screening in rheumatology is a viable strategy for supporting patients with unmet social needs. The findings suggest that direct assistance with connecting patients to resources can help address these unmet needs.” explains Meisui Russo, MD, Resident Physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA.

“These studies provide a closer look at how tools such as social determinants of health questionnaires and community health needs assessments can help identify patients’ needs and better understand how factors such as income, transportation access, and racial and ethnic disparities may affect access to care and health outcomes. By addressing these barriers, healthcare systems and policymakers can develop more equitable strategies to help patients receive the care and support they need,” said Shreena K. Gandhi, MD, 2nd year fellow at Vanderbilt Health.

All three abstracts will be presented at ACR Convergence 2026, the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Rheumatology, being held November 6–11 in Orlando, Florida.

Media Contact
Teri Arnold
Director, Public Relations & Communications
757-272-7002
tarnold@rheumatology.org

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About the American College of Rheumatology
Founded in 1934, the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) is a not-for-profit, professional association committed to advancing the specialty of rheumatology that serves nearly 10,500 physicians, health professionals, researchers and scientists worldwide. In doing so, the ACR offers education, research, advocacy and practice management support to help its members continue their innovative work and provide quality patient care. Rheumatology professionals are experts in the diagnosis, management and treatment of more than 100 different types of arthritis and rheumatic diseases.

About ACR Convergence
ACR Convergence, the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology, is where rheumatology meets to collaborate, celebrate, congregate, and learn. With hundreds of sessions and thousands of abstracts, it offers a superior combination of basic science, clinical science, business education and interactive discussions to improve patient care and advance the specialty. For more information about the meeting, visit the ACR Convergence page, or join the conversation on X by following the official hashtag (#ACR26).