ArticleBMJ global health2019
The impact of patient-held health records on continuity of care among asylum seekers in reception centres: a cluster-randomised stepped wedge trial in Germany.
Article in BMJ global health, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Health condition of Afghan refugees residing in Iran in comparison to Germany: a systematic review of empirical studies.International journal for equity in health · 2023Pooled it
- Systematic review on the use of patient-held health records in low-income and middle-income countries.BMJ open · 2021Pooled it
- Equity in Health Care: A Qualitative Study with Refugees, Health Care Professionals, and Administrators in One Region in Germany.BioMed research international · 2020Trial
- An offline-first electronic health record for vulnerable populations: A mixed-methods feasibility study.PLOS digital health · 2026Article
- Transition in care interventions for Refugee, Immigrant and other Migrant (RIM) populations: a health equity-oriented scoping review.Globalization and health · 2025Article
- Challenges in health care services for refugees in Cologne, Germany: A providers' perspective using a mixed-methods approach.Journal of migration and health · 2023Article
- Patient empowerment through a user-centered design of an electronic personal health record: a qualitative study of user requirements in chronic kidney disease.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThe aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a patient-held health record (PHR) for asylum seekers on the availability of health-related information.
methodsAn explorative, cluster-randomised stepped-wedge trial with reception centres as unit of randomisation was conducted. All reception centres (n=6) in two large administrative areas in South Germany with on-site health services were included. All physicians working at these centres were invited to participate in the study. The intervention was the implementation of a PHR. The primary outcome was the prevalence of written health-related information. Secondary outcomes were the physicians' dissatisfaction with the available written information and the prevalence of missing health-related information. All outcomes were measured at the level of patient-physician contacts by means of a standardised questionnaire, and analysed in logistic multi-level regression models.
resultsWe obtained data on 2308 patient-physician contacts. The presence of the PHR increased the availability of health-related information (adjusted OR (aOR), 20.3, 95% CI: 12.74 to 32.33), and tended to reduce missing essential information (aOR 0.71, 95% CI: 0.39 to 1.26) and physicians' dissatisfaction with available information (aOR 0.5, 95% CI: 0.24 to 1.04). The availability of health-related information in the post-intervention period was higher (aOR 4.22, 95% CI: 2.64 to 6.73), missing information (aOR 0.89, 95% CI: 0.42 to 1.88) and dissatisfaction (aOR 0.43, 95% CI: 0.16 to 1.14) tended to be lower compared with the pre-intervention period.
conclusionsHealthcare planners should consider introducing PHRs in reception centres or comparable facilities. Future research should focus on the impact of PHRs on clinical outcomes and on intersectoral care.
trial registrationISRCTN13212716. Registered 24 November 2016. Retrospectively registered. http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN13212716.
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