Medical Informatics Research Center, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran; Department of Health Information Sciences, Faculty of Management and Medical Information Sciences, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
Neuroscience Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Neuropharmacology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
Int J Med Inform. 2024 Mar;183:105334. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2023.105334. Epub 2024 Jan 4.
Electronic health records help collect and communicate patient information among healthcare providers. The confidentiality of information, especially for patients with mental disorders, is paramount due to its profound impacts on individuals' lives' social and personal aspects. This study aimed to investigate the viewpoints and concerns of parents of children with mental disorders regarding the confidentiality and security of their children's information in the Iranian National Electronic Health Record System (IEHRS).
This is a survey study on parents or guardians of children with mental disorders who visited Kerman's specialised child psychiatry treatment centres. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire with 28 questions organised in seven sections, including demographic information of parents, children's medical history, Internet use, knowledge about IEHRS, the necessity of data collection, IEHRS security concerns, and privacy concerns. The data were analysed in SPSS 24 software using descriptive statistics and logistic and ordinal regressions to assess the relationship between parents' demographic characteristics and their viewpoints regarding information security and confidentiality concerns.
The results showed that more than 85 % of the parents believed that the security of their children's information in IEHRS was moderate to high. More than two-thirds (71 %) of the parents also believed that IEHRS should tighten its privacy policies. Most participants (87 %) were concerned about their children's information security in IEHRS. In this study, the parents' concerns about the privacy and security of information in IEHRS were not significantly associated with their age, gender, or knowledge about IEHRS.
Most parents of children with mental disorders were concerned about the security and confidentiality of their children's information in IEHRS. Thus, health policymakers should maintain a high level of security and establish appropriate privacy and confidentiality rules in IEHRS. In addition, they should be transparent about the system's security mechanisms and confidentiality regulations to win public trust.
电子健康记录有助于在医疗保健提供者之间收集和交流患者信息。由于信息对个人生活的社会和个人方面有着深远的影响，因此信息的保密性，尤其是对精神障碍患者的信息保密性，至关重要。本研究旨在调查伊朗国家电子健康记录系统（IEHRS）中儿童精神障碍患者的父母对其子女信息保密性和安全性的观点和担忧。
这是一项针对曾前往克尔曼专门儿童精神病治疗中心的儿童精神障碍患者的父母或监护人的调查研究。数据收集工具是一份由 28 个问题组成的研究者自制问卷，分为七个部分，包括父母的人口统计学信息、儿童病史、互联网使用情况、对 IEHRS 的了解、数据收集的必要性、IEHRS 安全问题和隐私问题。使用 SPSS 24 软件对数据进行分析，采用描述性统计、逻辑回归和有序回归来评估父母人口统计学特征与他们对信息安全和保密性问题的观点之间的关系。
结果表明，超过 85%的父母认为 IEHRS 中他们子女信息的安全性为中等至高。超过三分之二（71%）的父母还认为 IEHRS 应收紧其隐私政策。大多数参与者（87%）对 IEHRS 中他们子女的信息安全表示担忧。在这项研究中，父母对 IEHRS 中信息的隐私和安全性的担忧与他们的年龄、性别或对 IEHRS 的了解无关。
大多数儿童精神障碍患者的父母对 IEHRS 中他们子女信息的安全性和保密性表示担忧。因此，卫生政策制定者应保持高度的安全性，并在 IEHRS 中制定适当的隐私和保密性规则。此外，他们应该对系统的安全机制和保密规定保持透明，以赢得公众的信任。
