Which is a common safeguard for protecting privacy in public health data?

• A. De-identification
• B. Public sharing of identifiable data
• C. Unlimited access
• D. No data-use agreements

Answer: (A)

Protecting privacy in public health data relies on removing or concealing identifiers that could link records to individuals. De-identification is the common safeguard because it lets data be used for analysis and public health purposes while lowering the risk that someone could recognize who the data belong to. This often means removing names, exact addresses, dates of birth, and other direct identifiers, using codes in place of identifiers, and sometimes aggregating data so individuals can’t be singled out. It’s typically paired with governance measures like data-use agreements and strong security controls to specify who may access the data and how it can be used. In contrast, sharing identifiable data publicly, allowing unlimited access, or operating without data-use agreements would greatly increase privacy risks and are not protective.