title: "Everybody Knows Everybody Else's Business"-Privacy in Rural Communities.
abstract: Patients have a right to privacy in a health care setting. This involves conversational discretion, security of medical records and physical privacy of remaining unnoticed or unidentified when using health care services other than by those who need to know or whom the patient wishes to know. However, the privacy of cancer patients who live in rural areas is more difficult to protect due to the characteristics of rural communities. The purpose of this article is to reflect on concerns relating to the lack of privacy experienced by cancer patients and health care professionals in the rural health care setting. In addition, this article suggests future research directions to provide much needed evidence for educating health care providers and guiding health care policies that can lead to better protection of privacy among cancer patients living in rural communities.
authors.affiliation: Policy and Epidemiology Group, Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research, Wacol, Queensland, Australia. j.leung1@uq.edu.au.|School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Herston, Queensland, Australia. j.leung1@uq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Janni
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5816-2959
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health, University of Stirling, Highland and Western Isles, Scotland, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Annetta
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Care, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Iain
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Atherton
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Herston, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Deirdre
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: McLaughlin
mesh_terms: D003219:Confidentiality; D057286:Electronic Health Records; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D011320:Primary Health Care; D018907:Privacy; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012424:Rural Population; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: Neoplasms; Privacy; Quality of health care; Rural health services; Rural nursing; Rural population