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Abstract Background The purpose of this study is to investigate factors that motivate nurses to protect privacy in electronic medical records, based on the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior. Methods This cross-sectional study used questionnaires to collect data from nurses in a large tertiary care military hospital in Taiwan. Results The three hundred two (302) valid questionnaires returned resulted in a response rate of 63.7 %. Structural equation modeling identified that the factors of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control of the nurses significantly predicted the nurses' intention to protect the privacy of electronic medical records. Further, perceived usefulness and compatibility, peer and superior influence, self-efficacy and facilitating conditions, respectively predicted these three factors. Conclusions The results of our study may provide valuable information for education and practice in predicting nurses' intention to protect privacy of electronic medical records.

The introduction of electronic medical records (EMRs) can expose patients to the risk of infringement of their privacy. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between patients' concerns about information privacy and their protective responses. A questionnaire survey conducted in a Taiwanese hospital revealed that, regarding information privacy, patients' concerns about the collection of information about themselves, the secondary use of this information and the possibility of errors in the recorded information were associated with their information privacy-protective responses, while concern for unauthorised access to their information by other staff in the medical facility was not. Medical facilities should devote every effort to alleviate patients' concerns about the invasion of their information privacy to avoid eroding the reputation of medical facilities and impeding the promotion of EMRs.

Motivations for choosing a public service career have long been a core issue in public administration research. This study focuses on China. Using the self-determination theory (SDT) as the basic framework, we revise Chen et al.'s scale which captures multiple motivations for a public service career (MPSC). We then validate the revised scale with responses from a questionnaire. The results show five distinct dimensions of MPSC, and all of them are associated with work-related attitudes and perceptions in different ways. In the conclusion, we discuss the theoretical and practical contributions of this study.

Despite compromised work morale, Chinese public employees generally feel reluctant to quit a public service job. The present study looks deeply into government career entrenchment, defined here as "public employees' perceived career immobility due to the concern for alternative career availability and substantial losses upon career shifting." By using mixed methods, the authors identify and measure four distinctive types of government career entrenchment, namely, emotional cost, career investment, limited alternatives, and extrinsic rewards. Evidence further shows that emotional cost and extrinsic rewards are more associated with positive work attitudes, while career investment and limited alternatives are more related to negative work attitudes. At the end of the article, we discuss how the developed government career entrenchment scale can be used for future research.

Political rhetoric in the United States is rife with condemnations of public sector workers. The assertion that public sector workers are less creative, talented, or autonomous than those working in businesses pervades in both academic studies and public opinions. Facing constant criticisms, do public managers also perceive that government workers are less able than their private sector peers? If so, and more importantly, does the perceived inferiority of worker abilities shake their confidence, thereby undermining their work attitudes? The present study employs social comparison theory to answer these questions. Based on state government managers' responses in the United States, the results indicate that a clear majority of public managers perceive public sector inferiority with respect to worker creativity, talent, and autonomy. The findings also show that perceived inferiority is related to lower job satisfaction, job involvement, and pride in working for the current organization. Based on the findings, we provide suggestions to both researchers and practitioners.