Acceptability of linking individual credit, financial, and public records data to healthcare records for suicide risk machine learning models

Abstract

Objectives Individual-level information about negative life events (NLE) such as bankruptcy, foreclosure, divorce, and criminal arrest might improve the accuracy of machine learning models for suicide risk prediction. Individual-level NLE data is routinely collected by vendors such as Equifax. However, little is known about the acceptability of linking this NLE data to healthcare data. Our objective was to assess preferences for linking external NLE data to healthcare records for suicide prevention. Materials and Methods We conducted a discrete choice experiment (DCE) among Kaiser Permanente Washington (KPWA) members. Patient partners assisted in the design and pretesting of the DCE survey. The DCE included 12 choice tasks involving 4 data linking program attributes and 3 levels within each attribute. We estimated latent class conditional logit models to derive preference weights. Results There were 743 participants. Willingness to link data varied by type of information to be linked, demographic characteristics, and experience with NLE. Overall, 65.1% of people were willing to link data and 34.9% were more private. Trust in KPWA to safeguard data was the strongest predictor of willingness to link data. Discussion Most respondents supported linking NLE data for suicide prevention. Contrary to expectations, People of Color and people who reported experience with NLEs were more likely to be willing to link their data. Conclusions A majority of participants were willing to have their credit and public records data linked to healthcare records provided that conditions are in place to protect privacy and autonomy.