Factors Associated with Practice of Health Information Protection among Nursing Students

Abstract

Purpose: Health information protection policy has received increased emphasis in the medical environment. Nursing students are required to access personal health information in practical training to achieve the necessary credits. This study was done to identify the effects of nursing students’ ethical index and their awareness of health information protection on their practice in terms of health information protection.Methods: Participants for this cross-sectional descriptive design study were 238 nursing students who had undergone clinical practice at four universities in J province. Information ethics index, awareness of health information protection, and its practice were measured using self-report questionnaires. Collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, and multiple regression analysis.Results: Among the participants, 88.2% were female and 55.0% identified as religious. A positive correlation was found between awareness of health information protection and the information ethics index (r=.60, <i>p</i><.01). In the multiple regression model, 37.4% of the variance in students’ health information protection behavior was predicted by religion (β=.13, <i>p</i>=.033), the respect domain of the information ethics index (β=.22, <i>p</i>=.033), and awareness of health information protection (β=.61, <i>p</i><.001).Conclusion: To improve health information protection behavior in nursing students, religion, awareness of health information protection, and the respect component of the information ethical index should be considered when developing systematic education programs.