Opportunities and challenges in the use of personal health data for health research

Matthew J Bietz¹, Cinnamon S Bloss², Scout Calvert³, Job G Godino⁴, Judith Gregory⁵, Michael P Claffey⁶, Jerry Sheehan⁷, Kevin Patrick⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Informatics, Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences, University of California, Irvine, California, USA Center for Wireless and Population Health Systems, Calit2, University of California, San Diego, California, USA.
² Center for Wireless and Population Health Systems, Calit2, University of California, San Diego, California, USA Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, California, USA Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, California, USA.
³ Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
⁴ Center for Wireless and Population Health Systems, Calit2, University of California, San Diego, California, USA Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, California, USA.
⁵ Department of Informatics, Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences, University of California, Irvine, California, USA.
⁶ Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, California, USA.
⁷ Information Technology Center, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA.
⁸ Center for Wireless and Population Health Systems, Calit2, University of California, San Diego, California, USA Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, California, USA kpatrick@ucsd.edu.

PMID: 26335984
PMCID: PMC4954630
DOI: 10.1093/jamia/ocv118

Opportunities and challenges in the use of personal health data for health research

Matthew J Bietz et al. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2016 Apr.

. 2016 Apr;23(e1):e42-8.

doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocv118. Epub 2015 Sep 2.

Authors

Matthew J Bietz¹, Cinnamon S Bloss², Scout Calvert³, Job G Godino⁴, Judith Gregory⁵, Michael P Claffey⁶, Jerry Sheehan⁷, Kevin Patrick⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Informatics, Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences, University of California, Irvine, California, USA Center for Wireless and Population Health Systems, Calit2, University of California, San Diego, California, USA.
² Center for Wireless and Population Health Systems, Calit2, University of California, San Diego, California, USA Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, California, USA Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, California, USA.
³ Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
⁴ Center for Wireless and Population Health Systems, Calit2, University of California, San Diego, California, USA Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, California, USA.
⁵ Department of Informatics, Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences, University of California, Irvine, California, USA.
⁶ Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, California, USA.
⁷ Information Technology Center, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA.
⁸ Center for Wireless and Population Health Systems, Calit2, University of California, San Diego, California, USA Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, California, USA kpatrick@ucsd.edu.

PMID: 26335984
PMCID: PMC4954630
DOI: 10.1093/jamia/ocv118

Abstract

Objective: Understand barriers to the use of personal health data (PHD) in research from the perspective of three stakeholder groups: early adopter individuals who track data about their health, researchers who may use PHD as part of their research, and companies that market self-tracking devices, apps or services, and aggregate and manage the data that are generated.

Materials and methods: A targeted convenience sample of 465 individuals and 134 researchers completed an extensive online survey. Thirty-five hour-long semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with a subset of 11 individuals and 9 researchers, as well as 15 company/key informants.

Results: Challenges to the use of PHD for research were identified in six areas: data ownership; data access for research; privacy; informed consent and ethics; research methods and data quality; and the unpredictable nature of the rapidly evolving ecosystem of devices, apps, and other services that leave "digital footprints." Individuals reported willingness to anonymously share PHD if it would be used to advance research for the good of the public. Researchers were enthusiastic about using PHD for research, but noted barriers related to intellectual property, licensing, and the need for legal agreements with companies. Companies were interested in research but stressed that their first priority was maintaining customer relationships.

Conclusion: Although challenges exist in leveraging PHD for research, there are many opportunities for stakeholder engagement, and experimentation with these data is already taking place. These early examples foreshadow a much larger set of activities with the potential to positively transform how health research is conducted.

Keywords: Internet of Things (IoT); big data; data sharing; mobile health (mHealth); personal data; wearable sensors.

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Figures

**Figure 1:**
Individuals who use cell phone apps are most likely to use apps aimed at fitness, diet, and weight.

**Figure 2:**
Individuals reported that they most often shared PHD with friends and partners, as well as health professionals.

**Figure 3:**
Researchers generally reported that PHD was valuable for research; however, the three most useful types of research data (i.e., vital signs, stress levels, and mood) were less likely to be tracked by individuals.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

1. Fox S, Duggan M. Tracking for Health. Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project; 2013. http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Tracking-for-Health.aspx. Accessed July 30, 2015.
1. Welser HT, Smith M, Fisher D, Gleave E. Distilling digital traces: Computational social science approaches to studying the internet. In The Sage Handbook of Online Research Methods. London: Sage; 2008:116–140.
1. Clarke M, Bogia D, Hassing K, Steubesand L, Chan T, Ayyagari D. Developing a Standard for Personal Health Devices based on 11073. In: Proceedings of the 29th Annual International Conference of the IEEE EMBS, Cité Internationale, Lyon, France, August 23–26, 2007. New York: IEEE; 2007:6174–6176. - PubMed
1. Wolf G. Know thyself: tracking every facet of life, from sleep to mood to pain. In Wired Magazine 2009:365.
1. patientslikeme. http://www.patientslikeme.com/. Accessed April 28, 2015.

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Opportunities and challenges in the use of personal health data for health research

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Opportunities and challenges in the use of personal health data for health research

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