Health Information Management: Psychological factors influencing information privacy concerns in psychiatric hospitals

Abstract

Background: Privacy is one of the fundamental rights of patients and their families in the health sector, and the violation of their privacy is a concern among them. Despite the importance of the issue, little research has been conducted to identify the determinant factors of patients' privacy concerns in the health sector. Hence, this research aims to address this issue in the psychiatric hospitals, where the violation of patients' privacy can seriously harm their face. Methods: The study was a descriptive and also a correlational study. Data gathering tool was a questionnaire adopted from published sources. Four hundred questionnaires were distributed in two psychiatric hospitals in Iran using a non-random sampling method, and 384 questionnaires were returned. SmartPLS software was used to analyze the hypotheses. Results: The results of the analysis showed that self-efficacy, ethics, and risk-taking could significantly influence individuals' privacy concerns in health sectors while computer anxiety and trust have no influence on privacy concerns. Conclusion: hospitals should ensure the ethical practices of their personnel. Hospitals should also communicate with the patients their level of control over their sensitive data. Hospitals should also deploy policies to minimize the risk of privacy violation.