Privacy: a review of the literature

Abstract

The concept of privacy is used in many disciplines and is recognised as one of the important concepts also in nursing. In this review, a description about the perspectives and dimensions of the concept will be made and empirical studies in the area will be analysed. Perspectives include units experiencing privacy, desired-achieved state, and reactiveness. Dimensions are divided into physical, psychological, social and informational. In the empirical studies, the concept of the privacy has mainly been studied in hospital organisations using the physical dimension. The concept needs further clarification in future.