Factors Affecting Willingness on Sharing of Electronic Health Records Data: A Survey on Chinese Residents

BACKGROUND: China has been promoting sharing of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) data for several years. However, only a few studies have explored the views of Chinese residents on sharing personal health data, and the factors that affect sharing of EHRs have not been fully elucidated. This study sought to explore public attitudes toward sharing EHRs and the factors that affect sharing of personal health data among Chinese residents. METHODS: A multi-stage stratified sampling design was adopted in this survey to select residents in Hunan province, resulting in 932 responses randomly. The investigation was carried out with the administration of a 19-item questionnaire. The measure includes items on demographics, willingness to share EHRs, experiences on EHRs, public acknowledgment of the benefits of sharing EHRs, and public awareness of potential risks of sharing EHRs. RESULTS: The score of general willingness to share EHRs was 5.784 ± 2.031. Concerning the domain scores for the willingness, the willingness to share EHRs for research was 2.060 ± 0.942, whereas sharing anonymization EHRs for other nonmedical services was only 1.805 ± 0.877. Multiple linear regression showed that general willingness to share EHRs was related to job-related healthcare (β = 0.520), experiences on EHRs (β = 0.192), public awareness of potential risks of sharing EHRs (β = −0.130), and public acknowledgment of the benefits of sharing EHRs (β = 0.290). CONCLUSION: The willingness to share EHRs data with Chinese residents was not high. The willingness of Chinese residents towards data sharing in EHRs is influenced by several factors, primarily job-related to healthcare, experiences on EHRs, public acknowledgment of the benefits of sharing EHRs, and public awareness of potential risks of sharing EHRs. The results provide a basis for related research and provide information for designing public health strategies such as formulating policies to improve public acceptance of sharing EHRs and promoting EHRs-based public health services.