Factors affecting intention to disclose patients’ health information

Abstract

Inadvertent violation of health information security by healthcare providers is a serious concern. Prior study identifies nursing students as the weakest link in health information security. Despite its potential significance in the context of health information security, nursing students’ deviant behavior has been under-investigated. To better understand this, this study develops a research model of nursing students’ behavior toward disclosing health information. This study identifies health information security awareness (HISA), medical assessment, and self-efficacy as factors affecting the behavior of disclosing a patient's health information. Our study empirically tests the model with data collected from 105 nursing students. We find that HISA directly affects intentions to disclose, while medical assessment mediates the relationship between HISA and intentions to disclose. We also find that HISA affects self-efficacy that, in turn, affects intentions to disclose via medical assessment.