Consumer attitude towards sharing health data with third-party commercial companies
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Journal Title
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Volume Title
School of Business |
Master's thesis
Authors
Date
2022
Department
Major/Subject
Mcode
Degree programme
Marketing
Language
en
Pages
52 + 3
Series
Abstract
The aim of this thesis is to explore the attitudes that young Finnish adults hold towards sharing their health data with commercial companies. The literature shows that young people have complex and diverse views of health data and sharing it for commercial purposes. The consumer point of view to sharing health data is not very well understood and previous literature shows that more research is needed into different age groups. The current study is limited to medically produced health data, i.e., the information that is created by healthcare professionals and that is found from personal electronic health records today. The data consists of eight hybrid-style in-depth interviews, combining characteristics of semi structured and unstructured interviews (Tolley, 2016). The interviewees were selected using the snowballing method to recruit young Finnish adults with varying educational backgrounds, life situations, and ages. Using a grounded theory approach and thematic analysis, the data was cyclically coded between open, axial, and selective coding. In addition, semiotic squares were utilized as a tool for structural analysis. The findings show that the health data sharing attitudes of young Finnish adults are diverse and complex. Therefore, I suggest that other factors, such as their education, influence their views more than their age. Aligning with the previous literature, the interviewees were doubtful towards commercial health data sharing. They contrasted commercial profit with public benefit, and required benefits for themselves, other people, and society in return of their data. The most important company characteristics for health data sharing decision are transparency and the following trustworthiness as well as reputation. Additionally, the field of the company influences the data sharing attitude, aligning with the existing literature. Security risks were deemed minor, and consistently with the literature anonymity increased the willingness of some interviewees to share their health data. Using sensitive information commercially was viewed negatively. Overall, the interviewees believed that the potential benefits of sharing health data outweigh the risks for the individual and for the public, especially in a country like Finland and with good regulation in place.Description
Thesis advisor
Paavola, LauriKeywords
health data sharing, consumer attitude, commercial health data purposes, health data attitude