Ethics in Health Data Science

Abstract

New technologies offer great opportunities to improve and expand the provision of health information and services worldwide. Digital health interventions (WHO 2018) include those designed for individuals, such as personalized health information delivered to their mobile phones; health care providers, such as decision support tools; and health systems, which include the digitization of health records. The other chapters outline the scope and potential for digital advances to impact global health outcomes. This chapter focuses on the responsibilities that accompany the adoption of these technologies. Specifically, we examine the ethical considerations to leveraging technology for global health, with a focus on resource-poor regions. Our paramount ethical consideration centers on putting the community and end user needs at the center of the approach. Using the concerned community as the starting point, all other ethical considerations follow, from safeguarding the rights of those impacted, which includes data privacy, security, and consent, to assessing unintended consequences.