Sharing information about health-related resources: Observations from a community resource referral intervention trial in a predominantly African American/Black community

CommunityRx is a theory-driven, information technology-based intervention, developed with and in a predominantly African American/Black community, that provides patients with personalized information (a “HealtheRx”) about self-management and social care resources in their community. We described patient and clinician information sharing after exposure to the intervention during a clinical trial. Survey data from 145 patients (ages 45–74) and 121 clinicians were analyzed. Of patients who shared information at least once (49%), 47% reported sharing ≥3 times (range 1–14). Patient sharers were in poorer physical health (mean PCS 37.6 vs. 40.8, p = .05) than nonsharers and more likely to report going to a resource on their HealtheRx (79 vs. 41%, p ≤ .05). Most patient sharers provided others a look at or copy of their HealtheRx, keeping the original. Patients used the HealtheRx to promote credibility of the information and communicate that resources were disease-specific and local. Half of clinicians shared HealtheRx resource information with peers; sharers were 3 times more likely than nonsharers to feel they were well-informed about resources to address social needs (55 vs. 18%, p < .01). Information sharing by clinicians and patients is an understudied mechanism that could amplify the effects of a growing class of community resource referral information technologies.