Transfer Of Health Information Research Articles

Problems of Communication and Health Information for Elderly Women during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Like mushrooms that grow in the rainy season, the health information that was scattered during the Covid-19 pandemic is also growing rapidly and going fast all the time. Transfer of health information about the Covid-19 case can be accessed easily by anyone and anywhere through digital media in their respective devices. Hoax in health information is not a strange thing anymore, so it is difficult to distinguish the truth from real information. This communication problem is being experienced by society, especially among elderly women in Bandung. This phenomenon has attracted the attention of the author to examine more deeply with the following research objectives: 1) knowing the process of seeking health information for elderly women during the Covid-19 pandemic in Bandung; 2) knowing the reasons for the communication process and the selection of media and health information used by these elderly women. In this case, the uniqueness of the research lies in the research subject, where the category of elderly women with various physical and mental health conditions they experience must face exposure to health information during the Covid-19 pandemic. This study uses a case study method by interviewing 5 selected informants in this research. The results of the research were found to contribute thoughts in the study of health communication in the digital era that occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic. The findings of this study include the following, (1) the process of searching for health information carried out by informants during the Covid-19 pandemic is unique because it varies through word of mouth and digital media, with information content about various herbal / traditional treatments; (2) the reason for the search for health information is an effort to contain the spread of covid-19, a form of self-awareness and to prevent exposure to covid-19.

Health Information Transfer in Rural India: A Study from Kangra Valley of Western Himalayas

ABSTRACT A comprehensive and informed approach to managing personal health and making sound medical decisions relies heavily on accurate, current health information. This vital knowledge is attainable through a diverse array of sources. The provision and accessibility of health information assume paramount importance in enhancing healthcare quality and outcomes. Within the Indian context, where 70% of the population resides in rural areas, a pressing demand for health information persists, compounded by formidable obstacles to accessing healthcare services. This study seeks to illuminate the impediments and sources obstructing the flow and retrieval of health information within rural domains. Emphasis is placed on investigating the information-seeking behaviors, health-related needs, challenges, and comprehension of both rural inhabitants and healthcare institutions. Furthermore, the research delves into the interplay between traditional practices and conventional medical approaches, scrutinizing the role of folk medicine alongside established medical modalities. The study specifically focuses on the Kangra Valley in Himachal Pradesh, chosen as a representative locale to decipher the structure, dynamics, and hurdles intrinsic to these systems. To assess the channels of information dissemination and access, a dual-pronged survey strategy was employed. The initial survey targeted health information providers and traditional healers, while the subsequent survey encompassed a randomized sampling of rural communities. Findings underscore the profound significance of both traditional healers and modern healthcare establishments in facilitating the distribution of high-caliber medical insights. Revelations highlight a substantial knowledge gap among rural residents concerning health matters, exacerbated by a pronounced disparity between population coverage and actual visits to healthcare centers. Moreover, the study underscores the potential of libraries to function as information hubs, mirroring health organizations in enhancing the diffusion of health information. By aligning with healthcare entities, libraries emerge as potent agents of bolstered public awareness, informed decision-making, and the empowerment of individuals in assuming control over their health and well-being.

Bridging the gap in healthcare: creating an online health information prototype for individuals with intellectual disabilities to promote equity and knowledge transfer.

The prevalence of intellectual disabilities (ID) in Austria is estimated to be approximately 1% of the population. Growing awareness of the major challenges faced by individuals with ID, including difficulties in comprehending written health information, communication barriers with healthcare professionals, and limited inclusion in health education research, necessitates concerted efforts to address these issues. The utilization of guidelines promoting easy-to-read language, web accessibility, and usability can significantly enhance access to health information and improve health literacy among people with ID. The "LUCHS-Gesundheitsinformationen (Health Information)" project aimed to improve knowledge transfer of health information for people ID by creating a website prototype. Unstructured interviews were conducted with two focus groups (n = 20) people with ID and their caretakers to elicit relevant topics and ensure the quality, comprehensibility, and usability of a website prototype. A convenience sample of 20 adults employed in sheltered workshops of the Caritas Lower Austria West facility who met the inclusion criteria participated. The prototype addressed four main topics, namely nutrition, medical specialization, first aid, and patient information, offering comprehensive information using easy-to-read language and pictorial content. The website prototype followed web accessibility suggestions and incorporated external resources, such as brochures and emergency contact details, to enhance usability and provide a reliable source of health information for individuals with ID. The findings suggest that a website format is a feasible means of providing accessible online health information for people with ID. However, further research is warranted to explore the potential of digital health applications for individuals with ID, as inclusion in the Austrian register for digital health applications necessitates meeting multiple quality standards, thereby instilling trust among the target group.

A feasibility Randomised Controlled Trial as a first step towards evaluating the effectiveness of a digital health dashboard in preventive child health care: a mixed methods approach

BackgroundWithin preventive Child Health Care (CHC), the 360°CHILD-profile has been developed. This digital tool visualises and theoretically orders holistic health data in line with the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. It is anticipated that evaluating the effectiveness of the multifunctional 360°CHILD-profile within the preventive CHC-context is complex. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the feasibility of RCT procedures and the applicability of potential outcome measures for assessing the accessibility and transfer of health information.MethodsDuring the first introduction of the 360°CHILD-profile in CHC practice, a feasibility RCT with an explanatory-sequential mixed methods design was executed. CHC professionals (n=38) recruited parents (n=30) who visited the CHC for their child (age 0–16). Parents were randomised to “care as usual” (n=15) or “care as usual with, in addition, the availability of a personalised 360°CHILD-profile during 6 months” (n=15). Quantitative data on RCT feasibility were collected on recruitment, retention, response, compliance rates and outcome data on accessibility and transfer of health information (n=26).Subsequently, thirteen semi-structured interviews (5 parents, 8 CHC professionals) and a member check focus group (6 CHC professionals) were performed to further explore and gain a deeper understanding of quantitative findings.ResultsIntegration of qualitative and quantitative data revealed that the recruitment of parents by CHC professionals was problematic and influenced by organisational factors. The used randomisation strategy, interventions and measurements were executable within the setting of this specific study. The outcome measures showed skewed outcome data in both groups and a low applicability to measure accessibility and transfer of health information. The study revealed points to reconsider regarding the randomisation and recruitment strategy and measures in the next steps.ConclusionsThis mixed methods feasibility study enabled us to gain a broad insight into the feasibility of executing an RCT within the CHC context. Trained research staff should recruit parents instead of CHC professionals. Measures, potentially for evaluating 360°CHILD-profile’s effectiveness, need further exploration and thorough piloting before proceeding with the evaluation process. Overall findings revealed that executing an RCT within the context of evaluating 360°CHILD-profile’s effectiveness in the CHC setting will be much more complex, time-consuming and costly than expected. Thereby, the CHC context requires a more complex randomisation strategy than executed during this feasibility study. Alternative designs including mixed methods research must be considered for the next phases of the downstream validation process.Trial registrationNTR6909; https://trialsearch.who.int/.

Implementing Interventions to Improve Health Communication Equity for First Nations People: Guidance from a Rapid Realist Review

ABSTRACT Effective communication is critical for engagement between clients and health professionals, transfer of health information and health decision-making. Internationally, there is recognition that if health communication interventions were successfully implemented, then health communication equity would improve. This rapid realist review was undertaken with the aim of providing guidance on the circumstances in which communication interventions were likely to work in regional health service settings accessed by First Nations people from remote and very remote geographic areas of Australia. The realist review involved a process of searching literature on key terms and the identification of relevant studies and policies by a content expert group, including non-Indigenous and First Nations health researchers. Evidence was extracted to inform and synthesize into guiding principles, using a realist perspective. This review identified studies that provided evidence from 37 Australian and international settings where the dominant language and culture of the health sector differs from that of the majority of service users. A number of guiding principles were synthesized: 1) to build trust and respect by inclusion of an individual patient’s cultural perspective; 2) to enhance concordant understanding of health information through two-way health literacies and learning; 3) to recognize the entanglement of health communication equity with regional socio-cultural and health determinants. This review generated realist informed guiding principles to suggest how and under what conditions health communication interventions can enable healthcare decision-making at an individual and service level.

Roadmap for Creating Effective Communication Tools to Improve Health Equity for Persons With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

Persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) live 20 fewer years than the average person and almost 40% of their deaths are from preventable causes. They suffer from well-documented disparities in health and healthcare, and much of this inequity is rooted in information transfer failures between patients, their caregivers, and their healthcare providers. Tools to improve communication between these stakeholders, such as health checks and hand-held health records, or health passports, have been implemented in Europe, Australia and Canada with mixed results, and there are no standard information tools currently in widespread use in the U.S. We review the evidence of the effectiveness of these tools, as well as their barriers to adoption, to inform proposed development of next-generation information transfer tools most useful to patients with IDD and their healthcare providers. The repair of health information transfer failures will be a major step toward achieving health equity for this population.

Beyond the mother-child dyad: Is co-residence with a grandmother associated with adolescent girls' family planning knowledge?

In South Asian countries, adolescent girls are generally embedded in multigenerational households. Nevertheless, public health research continues to focus on the nuclear family and overlook the role of grandmothers in adolescent socialization and the transfer of health information. This study compares family planning knowledge of adolescent girls in households with and without a resident grandmother. Two main types of family planning knowledge were assessed: (1) modern contraceptive knowledge and (2) healthy timing and spacing of pregnancy knowledge. This study is a secondary data analysis of the 2017 Suaahara II cross-sectional survey in 16 of Nepal's 77 districts. Family planning knowledge among 769 adolescent girls was assessed and compared between those living with a grandmother (n = 330) and those not living with a grandmother (n = 439). An analysis of the relationship between co-residence and family planning knowledge was carried out using multivariate logistic regression, adjusting for potential confounders and clustering. Additionally, we used the same method to analyze the association between grandmothers' family planning knowledge and that of co-resident adolescents. The odds of correct adolescent modern family planning knowledge were 1.81 (95% CI = 1.27,2.58) times higher in households with a grandmother. The study also identified higher odds of adolescent knowledge of modern contraceptives in households where grandmothers also had correct knowledge (OR 2.00, 95%, CI = 0.97,4.11), although this association was not statistically significant at the 0.05 alpha level. There was insufficient evidence to support the association between grandmother's co-residency and correct adolescent knowledge of the healthy timing and spacing of pregnancy. This study provides support for expanding adolescent reproductive health to include the role of senior women in promoting and transmitting health care knowledge to younger women in the household.

How Medical-Dental EHR Integration Can Improve Diabetes Care.

Since the mid-1990s, poor oral health has been neglected as a public health threat, despite its recognition as epidemic in scale by the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Surgeon General. Americans' poor oral health influences their overall health and, from a population standpoint, incurs dire economic and human costs. This article describes how health information transfer within the Marshfield Clinic Health System's integrated medical and dental practice can improve diabetes care. This article also considers ethics and equity implications of improving MDP electronic health record interoperability in this large, rural Wisconsin organization.

Health Information Portal - One-stop-shop for health information

Abstract Background A vast amount of health information in the form of data sources, experts, research networks, and tools related to collection, use and knowledge transfer of health information exists in EU Member States (MSs) but this information is scattered around and often difficult to find. Researchers and policy makers don't have a centralized place where information could be easily obtained. This hampers effective use of existing information and materials for research and evidence informed policy making. Methods There is a need for a centralized place where different components of health information can be easily found. Information should be described in structured, standardized format to allow comparisons and searchability. Results InfAct and PHIRI have established the Health Information Portal (HIP, healthinformationportal.eu), a one-stop-shop for health information. This portal brings together health information from different EU MSs and research networks and projects as well as from international organizations. HIP has catalogues on health information data sources, research networks, national nodes, health information initiatives and projects, health information related publications and guidelines including legal and ethical guidelines, and available capacity building activities. These catalogues are searchable and support open and fair access to the health information. Conclusions The Health Information Portal will facilitate secondary use of existing health information data for research and evidence informed policy making. Through HIP, researchers can find experts from different domains of health information as well as existing tools for data collection, analysis and knowledge transfer. It also facilitates health information capacity building within the EU. Aim is to support a more effective, also more cost-effective, health research environment which can enhance population health and healthcare in the EU, and through that productivity and European economy.

From Dominant Perspective to Critical Perspective in Health Communication: Analysis of Turkish Television Health Programs in terms of Critical Health Communication

Health communication, which has become a discipline since the mid-twentieth century, has become more crucial especially with the complexness of healthcare applications and health information practices. This has led to an increase in the number of researches and academic studies in the field of health communication and, also different approaches emerged regarding this debate. In order to improve the health of the individual and society, the theories used in the field of health communication are generally limited to individual information and behavior change models. Both the health behavior models, and health communication theory/models used are socio-psychological based approaches. Therefore, the methods used are individually focused. As a result, communication is typically understood as health information transfer and perception. After the changing economic-political approach and public broadcasting replaced by private broadcasting in the 1980s, it’s observed that the health communication practices on television started to show an approach towards the consumption of health services and products. This view mentioned above was called ‘dominant health communication’ in the 1990s and a new approach of the field emerged. Critical approach discusses that health is a social phenomenon and that all responsibility cannot be given to the individual. In this case, outside the individual factors such as economy, politics, culture, environment, education gender and even geography are important in the development and outcomes of health. In this study, it will be discussed that the ongoing health communication practices, which is termed dominant health communication, do not provide a solution to the existing health inequality in the society, on the contrary, they provide the reproduction and dissemination of the ideologies of the sovereign powers and a consent for the consumption of health products and services in the society. Therefore, in this study, health programs on mainstream television channels in Turkey will be analyzed in terms of critical health communication. Critical discourse analysis will be used as the main method of the study. Keywords: critical health communication, dominant health communication, critical discourse analysis, Turkish television health programs

Impact of a Longitudinal Intervention to Improve Care Coordination between a Hospital and a Hospice: A Quality Improvement Project.

Objectives:When patients with advanced cancer transition from systemic cancer treatments at MNJ Institute of Oncology to palliative and end-of-life care at a separate stand-alone non-governmental organisation-run hospice facility, there is insufficient transfer of health information, including details of cancer diagnosis and staging, past treatments, imaging reports and goals for future care. Without this information, the hospice care team is not adequately prepared to receive and deliver high-quality palliative care for these patients. This project aims to improve the care coordination between the hospital and hospice.Materials and Methods:The measures used are the self-reported confidence score on a scale of 0 to 10 related to knowledge about plan of care among staff who receives patients at hospice at baseline and during and after interventions. Interventions included recognizing the workplace culture and promoting ownership of the tasks, enhancing communication by creating user-friendly transfer forms and on-going assessment of the process.Results:Improvement in the care coordination in terms of communication of patient goals of care, from hospital to hospice.Conclusion:QI project and the steps involved helped the team to work towards solutions objectively. Seemingly excellent ideas may not be the most impactful and data collection demonstrates this and helps identify the most successful interventions.

Testing Transfer of Health Information Quality Measures Mandated By the Improving Medicare Post‐Acute Care Transformation Act of 2014

Research ObjectiveThe Improving Post‐Acute Care Transformation Act of 2014 mandated the creation of quality measures related to the transfer of health information and patient care preferences between post‐acute care (PAC) and other settings. The measures were required to be cross‐setting, meaning the measures should be developed for use across four specific PAC settings. Based on input from a technical expert panel and other stakeholders, the measures developed focus on the transfer of medication information at PAC discharge. One measure assesses the transfer of medication information to the subsequent provider (TOH‐Provider measure) and one measure assesses the transfer of medication information to the patient, family, and/or caregiver (TOH‐Patient measure). The purpose of this study was to examine inter‐rater reliability, face validity, feasibility, and the overall experience of collecting and submitting data for these quality measures. We also examined consumer reaction to the measures.Study DesignPilot sites, including home health agencies (HHAs), inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs), long‐term care hospitals (LTCHs), and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), used pairs of data collectors to independently complete assessments for recently discharged patients. We used these data to determine inter‐rater reliability. We conducted telephone interviews with the sites to gather data about face validity, feasibility, and other experiences collecting and submitting data for the measures. We also conducted interviews with recent PAC patients and caregivers to gauge their reactions to the measures, especially their opinions of the measures’ usefulness in selecting a PAC provider.Population StudiedTwenty‐four PAC sites, including seven HHAs, five IRFs, six LTCHs, and six SNFs, submitted assessments for 801 recently discharged PAC patients. We also interviewed six recent (ie, within the past 6 months) PAC patients and six caregivers of recent PAC patients.Principal FindingsInter‐rater reliability was 86.7% for the TOH‐Provider measure and 93.2% for the TOH‐Patient measure. Most sites reported that the measures would distinguish between providers with better and poorer transfer of information processes. They also reported that the data were feasible to collect. Most patients and caregivers stated that data about the transfer of medication information by PAC providers would be important to their future PAC selection and said that these measures would tell them about the quality of PAC providers.ConclusionsThe transfer of health information measures showed very good inter‐rater reliability, and the data were feasible for sites to collect. Patients and caregivers also reported that this information is important to them.Implications for Policy or PracticeThe Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has set important policy goals related to improving information sharing between health care providers. These measures will support that goal by assessing the transfer of medication information at PAC discharge. These measures may also be helpful to patients in their selection of a PAC provider. Future research should examine the relationship between these process measures and measures of patient outcomes.Primary Funding SourceCenters for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Home Care Nurses' Perspectives Regarding Health Information Management Among Older Adults.

Aging is associated with comorbidities and increased utilization of healthcare services, which results in a large amount of personal health information (PHI) to manage. Older adults often have difficulty managing this increased load of health information. Although many home healthcare nurses (HCNs) provide assistance to older adults after discharge from medical facilities, little is known about HCNs' experiences with older adults regarding the management and transfer of PHI in their homes. The purpose of this qualitative study was to 1) determine how HCNs obtain and provide health information, 2) describe the perspective of HCNs regarding older adult PHI, and 3) identify the potential role of technology in older adult health information transfer. We conducted and analyzed semistructured phone interviews with 17 HCNs from two home healthcare agencies. Five thematic areas emerged from interviews with HCNs: 1) common practices of obtaining health information; 2) barriers to obtaining health information; 3) ideal ways to obtain and provide health information; 4) use of patient portals; and 5) HCNs' use of technology for health information exchange. Most HCNs reported that it would be difficult for older adult patients to update their PHI without assistance, but HCNs lack the time and resources to assist older adults in PHI management activities.

The Effect of Health-Based Intervention on Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of First-Grade High School Students

Introduction: Students' health of is of great importance because they account for a large part of community. Schools play an important role in the transfer of health information to students. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a health-based intervention on the knowledge, attitude, and practice of high school students in Mehriz city. Methods: In this semi-experimental study with pretest-posttest design, 260 first-grade high school students were studied in Mehriz city in 2016-2017. The data collection tool was five sections of the Global school-based student health survey (GHSH). The questionnaires were completed by students before and three months after the intervention. Data were analyzed by SPSS 20 using z test, t-test, ANOVA, McNemar's test, and chi-squared test. Results: After the intervention, a significant difference was observed between the students' scores in the pre- and post- intervention steps with regard to taking milk and dairy at least twice per day, consuming vegetables, washing hands before eating in school, brushing twice or more daily, exercising for at least 60 minutes per day, and having insufficient sleep at night due to being worried about various issues (P<0.05). The intervention was also effective on the mean (±standard deviation) scores of knowledge about mental health, nutrition, and oral health, as well as mean(±standard deviation) scores of attitudes toward physical activity, oral health, and nutrition (P<0.05). Conclusion: Health interventions can increase health promoting behaviors and enhance knowledge and attitudes in students. Therefore, it is recommended to use interventional programs using available facilities in schools.

Pharmacists IMPACT Patient Care – an overview of the IMPACT Act

Pharmacists IMPACT Patient Care – an overview of the IMPACT Act

Authentication of Patients and Participants in Health Information Exchange and Consent for Medical Research: A Key Step for Privacy Protection, Respect for Autonomy, and Trustworthiness.

Genome and other data are already being used in areas including cancer and rare diseases. Data-sharing and secondary uses are likely to become much broader and far more extensive; thus, obtaining proper consent for these new uses of data is an important issue. Obtaining consent through online methods may be an option to overcome the problems associated with one-off, paper-based informed consent. When the process of obtaining consent takes place remotely, authentication must be assured. Patients may also choose to store some of their own information online, such as genetic information, and allow healthcare professionals to access this data. In this health information transfer and exchange process, it is vital that anyone accessing this information be correctly authenticated to protect patients' privacy. In this article, we first clarified that authentication has two roles: i.e., not only to prevent impersonation but also to prove intent, which is a vital step to ensure that medical research and health information exchange are conducted ethically. We then set out methods of authentication. As a result, we were able to make suggestions about the requirements for authentication and a possible method of authentication for these purposes. We considered problems of biometrics and recommended two-factor authentication without biometrics as a workable solution. However, three-factor authentication including biometrics seems likely to be used once biometrics become more common.

Perceived mHealth barriers and benefits for home-based HIV testing and counseling and other care: Qualitative findings from health officials, community health workers, and persons living with HIV in South Africa

mHealth has been proposed to address inefficiencies in the current South African healthcare system, including home-based HIV testing and counseling (HTC) programs. Yet wide-scale adoption of mHealth has not occurred. Even as infrastructure barriers decrease, a need to better understand perceived adoption barriers by stakeholders remains.We conducted focus group discussions (FGD) in South Africa in 2016 with 10 home-based HTC field staff, 12 community health workers (CHWs) and 10 persons living with HIV (PLH). Key informant (KI) interviews were conducted with five health officials. Perceptions about current home-based HTC practices, future mHealth systems and the use of biometrics for patient identification were discussed, recorded and transcribed for qualitative analysis. Themes were based on a conceptual model for perceived mHealth service quality.Stakeholders brought up a lack of communication in sharing patient health information between clinics, between clinics and CHWs, and between clinics and patients as major barriers to care that mHealth can address. CHWs need better patient information from clinics in terms of physical location and health status to plan visitation routes and address patient needs. CHWs perceive that communication barriers create distrust towards them by clinic staff. PLH want automated appointment and medication reminders. KI see mHealth as a way to improve health information transfer to government officials to better allocate healthcare resources. Stakeholders are also optimistic about the ability for biometrics to improve patient identification but disagreed as to which biometrics would be acceptable, especially in older patients.All stakeholders provided useful information towards the development of mHealth systems. Hospitals are adopting patient-centered approaches that solicit feedback from patients and incorporate them into decision-making processes. A similar approach is needed in the development of mHealth systems. Further, such systems are critical to the successful extension of the health system from health facilities into people's homes.

Constraint-Based Verification of a Mobile App Game Designed for Nudging People to Attend Cancer Screening

In Norway, cervical cancer prevention involves the participation of as many eligible women aged 25-69 years as possible. However, reaching and inviting every eligible women to attend cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination is difficult. Using social nudging and gamification in modern means of communication can encourage the participation of unscreened people. Simula Research Laboratory together with the Cancer Registry of Norway have developed FightHPV, a mobile app game intended to inform adolescent and eligible women about cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination while they play and, to facilitate their further participation to prevention campaigns. However, game design and health information transfer can be hard to reconcile, as the design of each game episode is more guided by the release of information than gameplay and playing difficulty. In this paper, we propose a constraint-based model of FightHPV to evaluate the difficulty of each episode and to help the game designer in improving the player experience. This approach is relevant to facilitate social nudging of eligible women to participate to cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination, as shown by the initial deployment of FightHPV and tests performed in focus groups. The design of this mobile app can thus be regarded as a new application case of Artificial Intelligence techniques such as gamification and constraint programming.

Get Ready for IMPACT

Get Ready for IMPACT

Supporting continuity of care between prison and the community for women in prison: a medical record review.

Objectives The aim of the present study was to examine health information transfer and continuity of care arrangements between prison and community health care providers (HCPs) for women in prison. Methods Medical records of women released from New South Wales prisons in 2013-14 were reviewed. Variables included health status, health care in prison and documented continuity of care arrangements, including information transfer between prison and community. Associations were measured by adjusted odds ratios (AORs) using a logistic regression model. Text from the records was collected as qualitative data and analysed to provide explanatory detail. Results In all, 212 medical records were systematically sampled and reviewed. On prison entry, information was requested from community HCPs in 53% of cases, mainly from general practitioners (GPs, 39%), and was more likely to have occurred for those on medication (AOR 7.08; 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.71, 13.50) or with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders (AOR 4.20; 95% CI 1.46, 12.11). At release, continuity of care arrangements and health information transfer to GPs were usually linked to formal pre-release healthcare linkage programs. Outside these programs, only 20% of records had evidence of such continuity of care at release, with the odds higher for those on medication (AOR 8.28; 95% CI 1.85, 37.04) and lower for women with problematic substance misuse (AOR 0.32; 95% CI 0.14, 0.72). Few requests for information were received after individuals had been released from custody (5/212; two from GPs). Conclusion Increased health information transfer to community HCPs is needed to improve continuity of care between prison and community. What is known about the topic? Many women in prison have high health needs. Health and well being are at further risk at the time of transition between prison and community. What does this paper add? This study provides evidence that outside formal programs, which are currently available only for a minority of women, continuity of care arrangements and transfer of health information do not usually occur when women leave prison. Pragmatic choices about continuity of care at the interface between prison and community may have been made, particularly focusing on medication continuity. Barriers to continuity of care and ways forward are suggested. What are the implications for practitioners? Siloing of health care delivered within prison health services through lack of continuity of care at release is wasteful, both in terms of healthcare costs and lost opportunities to achieve health outcomes in a vulnerable population with high health needs. There is need for an increased focus on continuity of care between prison and community health services, HCP support and training and expansion of pre-release planning and healthcare linkage programs to assist larger numbers of women in prison.