Legal Mechanisms for Protecting Children’s Personal Health Data in the Implementation of Sickness Insurance Benefits in Vietnam: Current Practice and Directions for Legal Education

Abstract

On the basis of an analysis of legal provisions on social insurance, personal data protection, and children’s rights, combined with an assessment of the practical procedure for settling sickness benefits, the article shows that risks to children’s health data arise not only from limitations in the legal framework but also from the design of administrative procedures, the data-security capacity of actors involved in data processing, and the legal awareness of parents or guardians. From this perspective, the article argues that the protection of children’s health data in the implementation of sickness benefits must be approached comprehensively, combining legal reform, strengthened technical safeguards, and enhanced legal education. The proposed solutions include improving the data-confidentiality responsibilities of healthcare personnel, training human resources officers and social insurance officers on the principle of data minimisation, strengthening parents’ awareness of children’s digital privacy, and integrating personal data protection principles from the design stage of forms and information systems used for the settlement of social insurance benefits. On that basis, the article affirms that safeguarding children’s right to personal data protection is an important condition for ensuring that modernisation and digital transformation in the field of social security are implemented in a sustainable, humane manner and in conformity with standards for the protection of children’s rights.