Assessing Caregiver Comfort with Linking the Healthcare System and WIC

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Informatics
• Family Medicine

Background:

• Effective information exchange between healthcare providers and public health programs like WIC is crucial for comprehensive family care.
• Understanding family perspectives on data sharing is essential for building trust and optimizing program integration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate family comfort levels regarding the sharing of health information between healthcare providers and the WIC program.
• To identify potential barriers or facilitators to inter-agency data sharing from the family's viewpoint.

Main Methods:

• A survey-based methodology was employed to gather data from families.
• Participants were asked about their comfort with specific types of information being shared between their healthcare providers and WIC.

Main Results:

• Preliminary analysis indicates a general comfort among surveyed families regarding information sharing for care coordination.
• Specific factors influencing comfort levels, such as the type of information and perceived benefits, are being examined.

Conclusions:

• Families appear receptive to data sharing between healthcare providers and WIC, suggesting potential for enhanced care coordination.
• Further research should explore detailed family preferences to guide policy on health information exchange.