Harnessing digital footprint data for population health: a discussion on collaboration, challenges and opportunities in the UK
Digital footprint data are inspiring a new era in population health and well-being research. Linking these novel data with other datasets is critical for future research wishing to use these data for the public good. In order to succeed, successful collaboration among industry, academics and policy-...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMJ Publishing Group
2024-09-01
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| Series: | BMJ Health & Care Informatics |
| Online Access: | https://informatics.bmj.com/content/31/1/e101119.full |
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| _version_ | 1850270464408027136 |
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| author | Michelle Morris Romana Burgess Elizabeth Dolan Neo Poon Victoria Jenneson Francesca Pontin Torty Sivill Anya Skatova |
| author_facet | Michelle Morris Romana Burgess Elizabeth Dolan Neo Poon Victoria Jenneson Francesca Pontin Torty Sivill Anya Skatova |
| author_sort | Michelle Morris |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Digital footprint data are inspiring a new era in population health and well-being research. Linking these novel data with other datasets is critical for future research wishing to use these data for the public good. In order to succeed, successful collaboration among industry, academics and policy-makers is vital. Therefore, we discuss the benefits and obstacles for these stakeholder groups in using digital footprint data for research in the UK. We advocate for policy-makers’ inclusion in research efforts, stress the exceptional potential of digital footprint research to impact policy-making and explore the role of industry as data providers, with a focus on shared value, commercial sensitivity, resource requirements and streamlined processes. We underscore the importance of multidisciplinary approaches, consumer trust and ethical considerations in navigating methodological challenges and further call for increased public engagement to enhance societal acceptability. Finally, we discuss how to overcome methodological challenges, such as reproducibility and sharing of learnings, in future collaborations. By adopting a multiperspective approach to outlining the challenges of working with digital footprint data, our contribution helps to ensure that future research can navigate these challenges effectively while remaining reproducible, ethical and impactful. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1757f388594d49cd985c8c7989cff55d |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2632-1009 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-09-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Health & Care Informatics |
| spelling | doaj-art-1757f388594d49cd985c8c7989cff55d2025-08-20T01:52:38ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Health & Care Informatics2632-10092024-09-0131110.1136/bmjhci-2024-101119Harnessing digital footprint data for population health: a discussion on collaboration, challenges and opportunities in the UKMichelle Morris0Romana Burgess1Elizabeth Dolan2Neo Poon3Victoria Jenneson4Francesca Pontin5Torty Sivill6Anya Skatova7The Alan Turing Institute, London, UKMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Bristol, UKNottingham Business School, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UKMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Bristol, UKUniversity of Leeds, Leeds Institute for Data Analytics, Leeds, UKUniversity of Leeds, Leeds Institute for Data Analytics, Leeds, UKUniversity of Bristol School of Computer Science Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Engineering Maths, Bristol, UKMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Bristol, UKDigital footprint data are inspiring a new era in population health and well-being research. Linking these novel data with other datasets is critical for future research wishing to use these data for the public good. In order to succeed, successful collaboration among industry, academics and policy-makers is vital. Therefore, we discuss the benefits and obstacles for these stakeholder groups in using digital footprint data for research in the UK. We advocate for policy-makers’ inclusion in research efforts, stress the exceptional potential of digital footprint research to impact policy-making and explore the role of industry as data providers, with a focus on shared value, commercial sensitivity, resource requirements and streamlined processes. We underscore the importance of multidisciplinary approaches, consumer trust and ethical considerations in navigating methodological challenges and further call for increased public engagement to enhance societal acceptability. Finally, we discuss how to overcome methodological challenges, such as reproducibility and sharing of learnings, in future collaborations. By adopting a multiperspective approach to outlining the challenges of working with digital footprint data, our contribution helps to ensure that future research can navigate these challenges effectively while remaining reproducible, ethical and impactful.https://informatics.bmj.com/content/31/1/e101119.full |
| spellingShingle | Michelle Morris Romana Burgess Elizabeth Dolan Neo Poon Victoria Jenneson Francesca Pontin Torty Sivill Anya Skatova Harnessing digital footprint data for population health: a discussion on collaboration, challenges and opportunities in the UK BMJ Health & Care Informatics |
| title | Harnessing digital footprint data for population health: a discussion on collaboration, challenges and opportunities in the UK |
| title_full | Harnessing digital footprint data for population health: a discussion on collaboration, challenges and opportunities in the UK |
| title_fullStr | Harnessing digital footprint data for population health: a discussion on collaboration, challenges and opportunities in the UK |
| title_full_unstemmed | Harnessing digital footprint data for population health: a discussion on collaboration, challenges and opportunities in the UK |
| title_short | Harnessing digital footprint data for population health: a discussion on collaboration, challenges and opportunities in the UK |
| title_sort | harnessing digital footprint data for population health a discussion on collaboration challenges and opportunities in the uk |
| url | https://informatics.bmj.com/content/31/1/e101119.full |
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