BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Social Pediatrics
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2025.1543076
This article is part of the Research TopicOvercoming Challenges in Health Technology Implementation to Maximize Patient Safety BenefitsView all 4 articles
Automated Information Sharing in Foster Care: Perspectives on Impact and Expansion
Provisionally accepted
Nathan Michael Lutz1*
Mary Vaden Greiner1,2Lisa Vaughn1,2
Amanda Schondelmeyer1,2
Elizabeth Freehling3Katie Fox1
Sarah Joy Beal1,2- 1Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, United States
- 2College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
- 3Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States
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For youth in foster care, healthcare information is often not communicated to relevant individuals, including foster caregivers and healthcare staff. Technology solutions designed to bridge that gap have been shown to increase information available, decrease time spent searching for information, and improve access to services. The feasibility of technology-based information sharing has been demonstrated with caseworkers. This qualitative study builds upon existing knowledge about the benefits of technology-based information exchange systems, utilizing interviews with healthcare staff (n = 41) and foster caregivers (n = 7). The purpose of this work is to understand their perspectives related to the utility of information-exchange technology, barriers faced, and potential improvements. Three themes were identified: 1) Impact and Benefits: The high-yield benefits of automated, on-demand information-sharing platforms for children in foster care; 2) User Experience and Efficiency: Streamlined workflows and improved outcomes; and 3) Opportunities for Platform Expansion: How information sharing can be further improved. Healthcare staff and caregivers alike said using technology to share health and child welfare information was efficient and easy in a system that is fragmented. They also identified opportunities for expansion, such as including more sources of information (e.g., information from caregivers themselves). These findings add to the evidence that information exchange platforms in child welfare increase the capacity of healthcare staff and caregivers while decreasing workload in an otherwise overburdened system. Expanding access to and use of information-exchange platforms in healthcare settings that serve youth in foster care may support the workforce who serve these children.
Keywords: foster care, Information exchange platforms, Caregiver perspectives, Healthcare staff perspectives, Child Welfare
Received: 10 Dec 2024; Accepted: 05 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lutz, Greiner, Vaughn, Schondelmeyer, Freehling, Fox and Beal. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Nathan Michael Lutz, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, United States
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.