Attitudes towards data protection and mHealth usage Results of a student survey and the Health Information National Trends Survey

Background Health apps or fitness trackers process health-relevant data and possibly harbour risks for the personal rights of users. The use of mobile health applications, trust in data protection and the active transfer of health data should be explored in more detail in this context. Objectives The project investigates associations between information behaviour and attitudes towards data protection, data protection-related ignorance and the individual use of mHealth. In addition, the question is posed which persons actively transmit their health data online to physicians or other medical personnel. Materials and methods Data are based on an online survey conducted at the Technische Universitat Chemnitz in autumn 2016. In all, 845 students aged 17-59 took part in the survey. In addition, US data from the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) of 2018 are analyzed. The hypotheses are tested with logit regressions. Results Data protection concerns are one of the main obstacles to mobile health services. Those who do not concern themselves with data protection have a higher propensity to use mHealth services. People in poor health and people with a high level of education are more likely to transfer their health data online to medical staff themselves. Conclusions The assessment of data protection standards and the lack of knowledge about them significantly influence the probability of using mHealth services. The active transfer of health data is mainly used by people with rather poor health. Further research should be conducted into the extent to which this is voluntary.