Mobile Device Security: Perspectives of Future Healthcare Workers

Healthcare data breaches on mobile devices continue to increase, yet the healthcare industry has not adopted mobile device security standards. This increase is disturbing because individuals are often accessing patients' protected health information on personal mobile devices, which could lead to a data breach. This deficiency led the researchers to explore the perceptions of future healthcare workers regarding mobile device security. To determine healthcare students' perspectives on mobile device security, the investigators designed and distributed a survey based on the Technology Threat Avoidance Theory. Three hundred thirty-five students participated in the survey. The data were analyzed to determine participants' perceptions about security threats, effectiveness and costs of safeguards, self-efficacy, susceptibility, severity, and their motivation and actions to secure their mobile devices. Awareness of interventions to protect mobile devices was also examined. Results indicate that while future healthcare professionals perceive the severity of threats to their mobile data, they do not feel personally susceptible. Additionally, participants were knowledgeable about security safeguards, but their knowledge of costs and problems related to the adoption of these measures was mixed. These findings indicate that increasing security awareness of healthcare professionals should be a priority.