Healthcare workers’ knowledge of patient health data protection when using digital health solutions at Hoima Regional Referral Hospital

Abstract

This study assessed healthcare workers’ knowledge of patient health data protection when using digital health solutions at Hoima Regional Referral Hospital. As healthcare systems rapidly adopt the digital technologies, safeguarding the digital patient health data is vital for preserving trust and complying with the legal and ethical standards. However, inadequate knowledge of data protection principles among the healthcare workers using digital systems may compromise the security and privacy of patient health records. The study aimed to identify the digital health solutions used, assess healthcare workers’ knowledge of patient health data protection principles and describe the data protection practices implemented within the hospital by the healthcare workers. A mixed methods approach was applied using structured questionnaires to collect data about the digital health solutions currently used, the knowledge of patient health data protection principles among the health care workers and their patient health data protection practices. The Interview guide was used to collect the patient health data protection practices among the healthcare workers in their respective departments. A sample of healthcare workers between the age of 31-50, most of whom were nurses, with the highest education qualification being between Diploma and Degree participated in this study. The findings revealed that UgandaEMR (E-Afya) was the most commonly used system (70.3%), followed by HMIS/DHIS2 (23.4%), Automated Laboratory Information Systems (3.9%) and Electronic Health Records (2.3%). The overall knowledge score on patient health data protection principles was moderate (54.7%). The most commonly reported patient data protection measure was the use of passwords or login credentials (74.2%). The findings showed that although digital health systems were widely used at Hoima Regional Referral Hospital, healthcare workers did not demonstrate strong knowledge of patient health data protection and had very low awareness of the Data Protection and Privacy Act (2019). The moderate knowledge level of the patient health data protection principles showed that some staff may not fully understand how to safeguard the sensitive patient information. In addition, relying mainly on passwords as a protection measure may leave the patient health data defenseless. Daily data protection practices were influenced by convenience, limited training and technical challenges which led to inconsistent patient data protection. These findings emphasized the need for more practical training and stronger institutional guidance to improve the secure management of patient health data.