The impact of personal dispositions on information sensitivity, privacy concern and trust in disclosing health information online

Abstract

Reluctance to provide personal health information could impede the success of web-based healthcare services. This paper focuses on the role of personal dispositions in disclosing health information online. The conceptual model argues that individuals' intention to disclose such information depends on their trust, privacy concern, and information sensitivity, which are determined by personal dispositions—personality traits, information sensitivity, health status, prior privacy invasions, risk beliefs, and experience—acting as intrinsic antecedents of trust. The data (collected via a lab experiment) and the analysis shed light on the role of personal dispositions. This could assist in enhancing healthcare websites and increase the success of online delivery of health services.

Introduction

Online users have a serious privacy concern about how their personal health information is used, disclosed, and protected, and the degree of control they have over the dissemination of this information [113]. They are also concerned about possible undesirable economic and social consequences resulting from the misuse of such information [68]. Indeed, 88.2% of Internet users express concern about the privacy of their personal information [105], and research suggests that privacy of health information is of focal concern to individuals [13], [15], [49], [70], [98], [101], [112]. Health information privacy concern may even cause individuals to avoid healthcare in sensitive areas [93]. The same presumably applies online where individuals must reveal private health information to receive appropriate care. The advent of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has further increased awareness regarding privacy infringements, bringing privacy concerns to the forefront [65].

This study examines such health information privacy concern and its relationship to trust, and how personal disposition, composed of personality traits and various measures of information sensitivity and experience, affects these concerns. Information privacy is defined as the “claim of individuals, groups, or institutions to determine for themselves when, how, and to what extent information about them is communicated to others” ([111], p.7). Privacy concern, on the other hand, is the concern over the loss of privacy and the need for protection against unwarranted communication and use of personal information [17], [100], [61]. Thus information privacy concern is about being in control of information, security of information exchange, and whether the collector of this information will behave appropriately [66], [114]. In this paper, we propose that personal dispositions play an important role in privacy concern and trust. This proposed role of personal dispositions is based on Utility Theory and its application to choice theory in which consumer preferences depend on personal characteristics. The research question addressed is: how do personal dispositions (such as personality traits, health status, information sensitivity, and other personal circumstances) impact privacy concern and trust levels in the decision to provide personal health information online?

Numerous studies on trust have investigated the extrinsic factors (website features and elements) as antecedents of online trust. The major contribution of this study is in revealing the intrinsic factors (individuals' dispositions) that impact online trust. In doing so, the study extends trust theory into the dual perspective—intrinsic and extrinsic—of online trust in the health context. The second contribution of this study to is in identifying the process by which personal dispositions impact individuals' trust and behavior intention. Rather than doing so directly, personal dispositions impact trust and behavior intention through information sensitivity and privacy concern. These findings should enhance managers' understandings of the information needed to personalize and customize health sites to address private health information.