Framework for enhancing health information sharing in public health facilities

Abstract

Information sharing is the exchange of data between various organizations, people and technologies. This might be attributed to the presence of health information systems, standards for information sharing and information sharing frameworks. In Uganda, health information sharing is ineffectively done due to absence of a clear framework for information sharing in public health facilities- a factor in healthcare service delivery. The focus of this research was to propose a framework to enhance health information sharing in public health facilities. To come up with an effective solution, a study was made on a number of policies, standards and frameworks putting emphasis on privacy and security of different information systems. Various frameworks that were partially offering possible solutions enhanced the development of the proposed framework. Various information sharing frameworks were reviewed and eventually Kayondo’s framework, Threat information sharing framework and Cambridgeshire information sharing framework are the lead frameworks for the study. Literature was used to guide the researcher in developing the concepts that are involved in the proposed framework. Considering Mulago and Jinja referral hospitals as the case study, qualitative and quantitative data were collected using questionnaires and interviews. The framework was accepted by the users during validation.