Association between patient-provider communication and withholding information due to privacy concerns among women in the United States: an analysis of the 2011 to 2018 Health Information National Trends Survey

Abstract

Background Electronic medical record software is common in healthcare settings. However, data privacy and security challenges persist and may impede patients’ willingness to disclose health information to their clinicians. Positive patient-provider communication may foster patient trust and subsequently reduce information nondisclosure. This study sought to characterize information-withholding behaviors among women and evaluate the association between positive patient-provider communication and women’s health information-withholding behavior in the United States. Methods Data were pooled from the 2011 to 2018 Health Information National Trends Survey. We used descriptive statistics, bivariate, and logistic regression analyses to investigate whether positive patient-provider communication significantly impacted health information-withholding behaviors. Data from 7,738 women were analyzed. Results About 10.8% or 1 in 10 women endorsed withholding health information from their providers because of privacy or security concerns about their medical records. After adjusting for the covariates, higher positive patient-provider communication scores were associated with lower odds of withholding information from the provider because of privacy and security concerns (aOR 0.93; 95% CI = 0.90–0.95). Additionally, we found that age, race/ethnicity, educational status, psychological distress, and smoking status significantly predicted women’s willingness to disclose health information. Conclusions Findings suggest that improving positive patient-provider communication quality may reduce women’s privacy and security concerns and encourage them to disclose sensitive medical information.