Posted: June 4th, 2022

Data collection ethics in primary healthcare

Data collection ethics in primary healthcare
Data collection is fundamental in primary health care and health research. It not only provides necessary information about patients, but it also offers a basis for finding solutions to health-related problems. Some ethics dictate guidelines of data collection from patients without infringing on their rights.
First, the patient has a right to informed consent. It is wrong to get data from patients without their permission. It is also illegal to coerce patients to provide information about the status of their health. In some research organizations, patients require to sign forms as a sign of acceptance to participate in the research. They should be simple for the patient to understand.
Patients should understand what kind of information the researcher needs and for what reason. In case the data causes harm to them. The researcher should compensate them. Informed consent sometimes becomes an impediment to health research. For instance, when patients in a sample refuse to provide data, it may lead to selection bias, and the data may not be reliable.
With the invention of electronic health records, informed consent is becoming challenging as data is readily available in clinics and hospitals. That has led to the rise of dubious activities such as the theft and misuse of data. Researchers need to prove that they have good intentions before being allowed access to electronic health records.
Secondly, the patient has the right to privacy and confidentiality. That is very important as it enables people to live their lives without judgment. It also prevents stigmatization. For instance, some patients are afraid of disseminating information about their reproductive health because of their religious values.
Researchers and health practitioners should not distribute a patient’s confidential information to the wrong contexts. They should only use the information for the intended purpose. For example, it is illegal for medical practitioners to give a patient’s health information to their employers. Privacy develops trust in a doctor-patient relationship. Lack of confidence in health practitioners can lead to other alternative ways such as self-treatment and false information, which can be detrimental to the provision of quality healthcare.
Finally, researchers and health practitioners should use the information they garner from patients for benevolence. Their sole purpose should be not only to benefit the patient but also the society in general. They should strive to control epidemics and develop treatments and vaccines using the data. If the data is to benefit the community, people should not shy away from providing critical information.
References
Medhanyie, Araya Abrha, et al. “Mobile health data collection at primary health care in Ethiopia: a feasible challenge.” Journal of Clinical Epidemiology 68.1 (2015): 80-86.
Maher, Nicole A., et al. “Passive data collection and use in healthcare: A systematic review of ethical issues.” International journal of medical informatics 129 (2019): 242-247.

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