SHAR(ED) is the Stanford Health Advocacy and Research in the Emergency Department program. We are a group of undergraduates who aim to improve the lives of patients in the Emergency Department and other healthcare settings using a public health approach. We currently run two programs for our patients.

Help Desk

The mission of Help Desk is to understand the social and legal needs that may affect the health of patients who present to the ED and to address these needs by connecting patients to appropriate community resources.

According to the World Health Organization, addressing social determinants of health is critical to reducing health inequity. The Stanford Help Desk aims to understand the social determinants of health affecting patients in our ED by screening patients for social and legal needs such as problems with health insurance, food insecurity, homelessness, and employment. Volunteers address these needs by connecting patients to community resources and partnerships. Additionally, volunteers follow up with consenting patients at two, four, and six weeks to track patient progress and provide further assistance.

Stanford Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention (SASBI)

SASBI screens patients in the ED for risky alcohol behaviors to help our patients avoid preventable illness and injury.

In the United States, alcohol use is a major cause of preventable health conditions that presents to EDs, contributing to over 100,000 deaths and costing society $185 billion per year. As a Level I trauma center, Stanford is required to implement an alcohol abuse screening program. SASBI uses a computerized alcohol screening and intervention program developed in conjunction with UC Irvine that incorporates Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to treatment (SBIRT), an evidence-based practice used to identify and reduce high-risk alcohol use behaviors.