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An experiment in privacy protection
Author(s) -
Donovan John W.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1984.tb113179.x
Subject(s) - internet privacy , personally identifiable information , privacy protection , shock (circulatory) , computer security , business , psychology , medicine , computer science
During investigation of toxic shock syndrome in New South Wales, record keepers were requested not to disclose the identities of subjects. Nevertheless, many record keepers disclosed these identities to the investigator. Covering letters giving extra stress to privacy protection had no special effect. The extent of disclosure appeared to be greater for record keepers who either are infrequently approached for research data or lack the facilities to prepare non‐identified abstracts of personal information. These record keepers may benefit from education about their responsibilities.