Measuring patients' perceptions of privacy and its outcomes in health care

Abstract

The purpose of this study is two-fold. The first is to develop a measurement instrument of patient perceptions of privacy in the healthcare sector. Privacy is critical in health care since it affects patient perceptions of the various aspects of their experience. The second objective of this study is to empirically investigate how privacy affects patients' trust in their health care provider, which in turn influences their commitment, word-of-mouth, and future intentions to use the service. Based on a comprehensive literature review, it was proposed that privacy is a multidimensional construct which consists of three theoretically independent dimensions: informational, physical and psychological privacy. A survey instrument was developed and subjected to extensive face validity assessment.