DEVELOPING, IMPLEMENTING, AND EVALUATING AN ELECTRONIC PERSONAL HEALTH RECORD FOR PEOPLE ON THE MOVE IN VARIOUS SETTINGS AROUND THE GLOBE (NOVO-HealthEMove Pilot Project), HealthEmove

Migration is a recurrent phenomenon in the history of mankind and it can be defined as “the movement of persons away from their place of usual residence”, irrespective of reasons for migration and means used to migrate (IOM).
Informed by this broad definition of migration, in our study, we use the term “mobile populations” to refer to individuals or groups of persons who, whether voluntarily or forcibly, change their location of residence and/or lack a permanent home address. In this definition, we include movements that occur locally, nationally, and/or across borders, for a short and/or long duration. Groups categorized as “mobile populations” in this study therefore include refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants, but also undocumented migrants, temporary labor migrants, international workers, homeless people, nomads and internally displaced persons.
In relation to healthcare, mobile populations tend to change healthcare providers, which often results in discontinuity and low quality of care. While several factors can contribute to disrupting the continuity of care experienced by different mobile populations, lack of previous medical history is a common barrier affecting the continuity and quality of healthcare experienced by all different groups of mobile populations.
Literature shows that access to medical information can empower people and potentially improve the continuity and quality of care for mobile populations. In recent years there has been a lot of innovation regarding the development of Electronic Personal Health Records (EPHRs). However, EPHRs are often not specifically designed for mobile populations.
Aim: To explore the perceived usefulness (benefits and barriers) of electronic personal health records for improving the continuity of care for mobile populations.