News Feature | January 21, 2015

Consumers Split On Sharing Data For Research

Katie Wike

By Katie Wike, contributing writer

According to a poll, patients are split evenly when it comes to sharing their personal health data.

A recent poll conducted by Truven Health Analytics and NPR has found that, when it comes to willingness to share health information, consumers are split nearly in half. In a survey of over 3,000 individuals, 53 percent said they were willing to share their information, while 47 percent said they were not willing to do so.

Age was a major factor in whether or not patients were willing to share, according to iHealth Beat:

  • 60.7 percent of those under age 35 said they were willing to share their health information
  • 52.6 percent of those ages 35 to 64 said they were willing to share their health information
  • 43.1 percent of those ages 65 and older said they were willing to share health information

Also, education level had a correlation. Of those polled who had a high school degree or less, 46.5 percent were willing to share their information. Nearly 53 percent of those who had some college or an associate’s degree were willing to share, and of those with at least a college degree, 58.2 percent were willing to share their information.

Of those who were willing to anonymously share their data, it did depend who would receive the data. The poll found:

  • 86.5 percent of respondents said they would share their health data with pharmaceutical researchers
  • 88.1 percent said they would share the data with university professors
  • 88.7 percent said they would share the data with health care research consultants
  • 91.6 percent said they would share the data with government researchers at CDC and NIH

“Over the last quarter, major privacy breaches have been a hot topic in American culture – from leaked pictures of celebrities to the extensive Sony hack,” Dr. Michael Taylor, CMO at Truven Health Analytics told NPR. “We don't know whether it's a temporary response influenced by these or other factors, but Americans may be more protective of the information they are willing to share electronically.”