title: Data destruction.
abstract: School nurses are caretakers of a vast amount of sensitive student and family health information. In schools, older computer hardware that previously stored education records is recycled for less demanding student and employee functions. Sensitive data must be adequately erased before electronic storage devices are reassigned or are discarded. State and federal laws must be considered when permanently destroying personally identifiable student information. To fulfill their ethical and legal responsibilities, school nurses must be aware of record retention and data destruction policies and procedures for both paper and electronic records.
authors.affiliation: Public Health and School Nursing, College of Nursing, University of Illinois-Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Martha Dewey
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Bergren
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D016494:Computer Security; D003219:Confidentiality; D006801:Humans; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized / Q000458:organization & administration*; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009737:Nursing Records / Q000592:standards*; D010344:Patient Advocacy / Q000592:standards*; D018907:Privacy; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D012572:School Health Services / Q000592:standards; D012573:School Nursing / Q000592:standards*; D014481:United States