Awareness of Healthcare Workers on Nigerian Data Protection Act 2023 and Its Effects on Quality of Clinical Data in University of Medical Science Teaching Hospital, Ondo.

ABSTRACT The main focus of this study was to assess the awareness of healthcare workers on Nigerian data protection Act 2023 and its effects on quality of clinical data in University of Medical Science Teaching Hospital, Ondo. The objective of study are to; assess the awareness of healthcare workers regarding the provisions of the Nigerian Data Protection Act 2023, examine the perceived impact of the data protection Act on the handling and management of clinical data, Explore strategies to enhance awareness and compliance with the Data Protection Act among healthcare professionals and Identify challenges and barriers to compliance with data protection regulations in healthcare settings. The study adopted a descriptive survey design in which structured questionnaire were used for data collection. The target population was 165 staff of University of Medical Science Teaching Hospital that sampled 165 respondents using total enumeration. 165 questionnaires were administered and 140 questionnaires were retrieved and the response rate achieved was 84.8%. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency and simple percentages with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0. The study revealed that Majority of the respondents were aware that access to patient data should be restricted to authorized personnel only. 92.1% of the respondents supported to the same fact that sharing patient data with other healthcare providers or third parties, healthcare workers must follow legal and ethical guidelines and 92.1% of the respondents were of the view that all healthcare workers should be familiar with procedures for responding to data breaches in UNMEDTH Ondo. Also, it was observed that organize regular workshops, seminars, and webinars focused on data protection topics is a strategy to enhance awareness and compliance with the Data Protection Act among healthcare professionals. The study concluded that there are various challenges and barriers to compliance with data protection regulations in healthcare settings where we were unable to ensure the security of patient data as a barrier to compliance with data protection regulations in healthcare settings. Therefore, recommends that, there should be developed clear and concise guidelines that outline the specific protocols and best practices healthcare workers should follow to ensure compliance with the Data Protection Act. Make these guidelines easily accessible to all healthcare personnel.