Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39610767›Full record

ArticleHealth services insights2024

Health Professionals' Ethical, Security, and Patient Safety Concerns Using Digital Health Technologies: A Mixed Method Research Study.

Nathan Kumasenu Mensah, Godwin Adzakpah, Jonathan Kissi, Hannah Taylor-Abdulai, Stephen Benyi Johnson, Princilla Awudu Agbeshie, Christabell Opoku, Jessica Abakah, Emmanuel Osei, Ama Yeboaa Agyekum and 1 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Health services insights, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Nathan Kumasenu MensahDepartment of Health Information Management, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5333-589X
Godwin AdzakpahDepartment of Health Information Management, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6916-6733
Jonathan KissiDepartment of Health Information Management, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2942-5654
Hannah Taylor-AbdulaiDepartment of Physician Assistant Studies, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
Stephen Benyi JohnsonDepartment of Health Information Management, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
Princilla Awudu AgbeshieDepartment of Health Information Management, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
Christabell OpokuDepartment of Health Information Management, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0002-4352-259X
Jessica AbakahDepartment of Health Information Management, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
Emmanuel OseiDepartment of Health Information Management, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
Ama Yeboaa AgyekumDepartment of Health Information Management, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
Richard Okyere BoaduDepartment of Health Information Management, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2243-593X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Digital Health Technologies (DHTs) offer numerous health benefits but raise ethical and security concerns about patient health data among health professionals due to potential security breaches. This study explores the ethical, patient safety, and security issues concerning healthcare professionals using DHTs in hospitals in Ghana. Methods: The study used a mixed method design, including a descriptive survey and in-depth interviews with health professionals in 3 tertiary hospitals, between July and September 2022, with thematic content analysis using QSR NVivo 12 software. The descriptive survey was analyzed using Stata 15 to produce percentages, means, and standard deviations. Results: A total of 369 health professionals participated in the study. Disclosure of health data on DHTs without consent from patients 299 (81.03%) was the most frequently mentioned concern. The most often raised concern was the disclosure of the patient. Overall, 298(80.76%) health professionals worried about safety issues relating to the use of the DHTs. On occasion, staff members neglect to log out of the system, which compromises all the security measures in place. Other factors such as system unavailable due to unplanned shutdown affected patient safety. Conclusion: Health professionals are concerned about patient information confidentiality and security. They believe staff access to patient information should be on a "need-to-know basis," and safety policies be periodically updated to prevent human behavior from compromising security measures.

Indexed as

Digital health technologyethical issuesGhanahealth professionalspatient safetysecurity

Identifiers

PMID39610767
PMCPMC11603449

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.