META mHealth: Ethical, Legal and Social Aspects in the Technological Age
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Data, access and consent in mHealth

The use of apps and other m-health technologies generates vast amounts of potentially sensitive data, which raises questions on confidentiality, anonymization and access. Regulating this stream of information involves addressing ethical questions on how to obtain proper informed consent from the individual user, as well as more general reflection on the legitimate use of data obtained in the context of mHealth: who is morally authorised to access what information – and on what conditions?

In order to assist in answering such questions, this project aims to bring more clarity to some of the concepts that are all too often used in a hand-waving manner in the context of m-health technologies: “privacy”, “consent”, “public interest” and “data”. We apply the resulting conceptual framework to practical questions on interoperability, encryption and standards of consent. We also analyse existing practices of consent to examine what role traditional conceptions of informed consent may play in the changing landscape of m-health technologies.

Main investigators: Niels Nijsingh and Laura Mertgen