Big Data and Digitalization in Dentistry: A Systematic Review of the Ethical Issues

Big Data and Internet and Communication Technologies (ICT) are being increasingly implemented in the healthcare sector. Similarly, research in the field of dental medicine is exploring the potential beneficial uses of digital data both for dental practice and in research. As digitalization is raising numerous novel and unpredictable ethical challenges in the biomedical context, our purpose in this study is to map the debate on the currently discussed ethical issues in digital dentistry through a systematic review of the literature. Four databases (Web of Science, Pub Med, Scopus, and Cinahl) were systematically searched. The study results highlight how most of the issues discussed by the retrieved literature are in line with the ethical challenges that digital technologies are introducing in healthcare such as privacy, anonymity, security, and informed consent. In addition, image forgery aimed at scientific misconduct and insurance fraud was frequently reported, together with issues of online professionalism and commercial interests sought through digital means.

Download Full-text

Opportunities and Challenges of Big Data in Healthcare

Data Analytics in Medicine ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-1204-3.ch099 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1989-2001

Author(s):

Wafaa Faisal Mukhtar ◽

Eltayeb Salih Abuelyaman

Keyword(s):

Big Data ◽

Data Privacy ◽

Ethical Issues ◽

Standard Of Care ◽

Healthcare Sector ◽

Useful Knowledge ◽

Healthcare Data ◽

Big Data Streams ◽

Privacy Issues ◽

Collection Methods

Healthcare big data streams from multiple information sources at an alarming volume, velocity, and variety. The challenge that faces the healthcare industry is extracting meaningful value from such sources. This chapter investigates the diversity and forms of data in the healthcare sector, reviews the methods used to search and analyze these data throughout the past years, and the use of machine learning and data mining techniques to mine useful knowledge from such data. The chapter will also highlight innovations of particular systems and tools which spot the fine approaches for different healthcare data, raise the standard of care and recap the tools and data collection methods. The authors emphasize some of ethical issues regarding processing these records and some data privacy issues.

Download Full-text

Real-world ethics in palliative care: A systematic review of the ethical challenges reported by specialist palliative care practitioners in their clinical practice

Palliative Medicine ◽

10.1177/0269216320974277 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 026921632097427

Author(s):

Guy Schofield ◽

Mariana Dittborn ◽

Richard Huxtable ◽

Emer Brangan ◽

Lucy Ellen Selman

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Palliative Care ◽

Clinical Practice ◽

Ethical Issues ◽

Clinical Care ◽

Ethical Principles ◽

Original Research ◽

Specialist Palliative Care ◽

Ethical Challenges ◽

Ethical Practice

Background: Ethical issues arise daily in the delivery of palliative care. Despite much (largely theoretical) literature, evidence from specialist palliative care practitioners about day-to-day ethical challenges has not previously been synthesised. This evidence is crucial to inform education and adequately support staff. Aim: To synthesise the evidence regarding the ethical challenges which specialist palliative care practitioners encounter during clinical practice. Design: Systematic review with narrative synthesis (PROSPERO registration CRD42018105365). Quality was dual-assessed using the Mixed-Methods Appraisal Tool. Tabulation, textural description, concept mapping and thematic synthesis were used to develop and present the narrative. Data sources: Seven databases (MEDLINE, Philosopher’s Index, EMBASE, PsycINFO, LILACS, Web of Science and CINAHL) were searched from inception to December 2019 without language limits. Eligible papers reported original research using inductive methods to describe practitioner-reported ethical challenges. Results: A total of 8074 records were screened. Thirteen studies from nine countries were included. Challenges were organised into six themes: application of ethical principles; delivering clinical care; working with families; engaging with institutional structures and values; navigating societal values and expectations; philosophy of palliative care. Challenges related to specific scenarios/contexts rather than the application of general ethical principles, and occurred at all levels (bedside, institution, society, policy). Conclusion: Palliative care practitioners encounter a broad range of contextual ethical challenges, many of which are not represented in palliative care ethics training resources, for example, navigating institutional policies, resource allocation and inter-professional conflict. Findings have implications for supporting ethical practice and training practitioners. The lack of low- and middle- income country data needs addressing.

Download Full-text

Ethical concerns with the use of intelligent assistive technology: findings from a qualitative study with professional stakeholders

BMC Medical Ethics ◽

10.1186/s12910-019-0437-z ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Tenzin Wangmo ◽

Mirjam Lipps ◽

Reto W. Kressig ◽

Marcello Ienca

Keyword(s):

Assistive Technology ◽

Ethical Issues ◽

Machine Intelligence ◽

Cognitive Disability ◽

Ethical Challenges ◽

Quality Of Data ◽

Technology Governance ◽

Age Related ◽

Study Results

Abstract Background Advances in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and wearable computing are creating novel technological opportunities for mitigating the global burden of population ageing and improving the quality of care for older adults with dementia and/or age-related disability. Intelligent assistive technology (IAT) is the umbrella term defining this ever-evolving spectrum of intelligent applications for the older and disabled population. However, the implementation of IATs has been observed to be sub-optimal due to a number of barriers in the translation of novel applications from the designing labs to the bedside. Furthermore, since these technologies are designed to be used by vulnerable individuals with age- and multi-morbidity-related frailty and cognitive disability, they are perceived to raise important ethical challenges, especially when they involve machine intelligence, collect sensitive data or operate in close proximity to the human body. Thus, the goal of this paper is to explore and assess the ethical issues that professional stakeholders perceive in the development and use of IATs in elderly and dementia care. Methods We conducted a multi-site study involving semi-structured qualitative interviews with researchers and health professionals. We analyzed the interview data using a descriptive thematic analysis to inductively explore relevant ethical challenges. Results Our findings indicate that professional stakeholders find issues of patient autonomy and informed consent, quality of data management, distributive justice and human contact as ethical priorities. Divergences emerged in relation to how these ethical issues are interpreted, how conflicts between different ethical principles are resolved and what solutions should be implemented to overcome current challenges. Conclusions Our findings indicate a general agreement among professional stakeholders on the ethical promises and challenges raised by the use of IATs among older and disabled users. Yet, notable divergences persist regarding how these ethical challenges can be overcome and what strategies should be implemented for the safe and effective implementation of IATs. These findings provide technology developers with useful information about unmet ethical needs. Study results may guide policy makers with firsthand information from relevant stakeholders about possible solutions for ethically-aligned technology governance.

Download Full-text

A Systematic Review of Techniques and Sources of Big Data in the Healthcare Sector

Journal of Medical Systems ◽

10.1007/s10916-017-0832-2 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 41 (11) ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Susel Góngora Alonso ◽

Isabel de la Torre Díez ◽

Joel J. P. C. Rodrigues ◽

Sofiane Hamrioui ◽

Miguel López-Coronado

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Big Data ◽

Healthcare Sector

Download Full-text

Big Data and Human Geography

10.31235/osf.io/phz3e ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Francisco Rowe

Keyword(s):

Big Data ◽

Human Geography ◽

Digital Data ◽

Ethical Challenges ◽

Human Interactions ◽

Technological Advances ◽

Extensive Coverage ◽

Challenges And Opportunities ◽

Future Challenges ◽

And Storage

Technological advances have enabled the emerge of ‘Big Data’ through the production, processing, analysis and storage of large volumes of digital data. Data that could not previously be stored or used to be captured using analog devices can now be digitally recorded. This chapter identifies and discusses the existing and future challenges and opportunities of Big Data for human geography. Big Data offer high geographic and temporal granularity, extensive coverage and instant information to transform our understanding of human interactions and our social world. At the same time, Big Data present major epistemological, methodological and ethical challenges which need to be addressed to realise these opportunities. I identify the key challenges and actions for the future of human geography emerging from the use of Big Data.

Download Full-text

Caring for (Big) Data: An Introduction to Research Methodologies and Ethical Challenges in Digital Migration Studies

10.1007/978-3-030-81226-3_1 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-21

Author(s):

Marie Sandberg ◽

Luca Rossi

Keyword(s):

Big Data ◽

Large Scale ◽

Social Activity ◽

Data Access ◽

Digital Data ◽

Data Sets ◽

Ethical Challenges ◽

Migration Studies ◽

Critical Approach ◽

Migration Research

AbstractDigital technologies present new methodological and ethical challenges for migration studies: from ensuring data access in ethically viable ways to privacy protection, ensuring autonomy, and security of research participants. This Introductory chapter argues that the growing field of digital migration research requires new modes of caring for (big) data. Besides from methodological and ethical reflexivity such care work implies the establishing of analytically sustainable and viable environments for the respective data sets—from large-scale data sets (“big data”) to ethnographic materials. Further, it is argued that approaching migrants’ digital data “with care” means pursuing a critical approach to the use of big data in migration research where the data is not an unquestionable proxy for social activity but rather a complex construct of which the underlying social practices (and vulnerabilities) need to be fully understood. Finally, it is presented how the contributions of this book offer an in-depth analysis of the most crucial methodological and ethical challenges in digital migration studies and reflect on ways to move this field forward.

Download Full-text

Opportunities and Challenges of Big Data in Healthcare

Handbook of Research on Healthcare Administration and Management - Advances in Healthcare Information Systems and Administration ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-0920-2.ch004 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 47-58

Author(s):

Wafaa Faisal Mukhtar ◽

Eltayeb Salih Abuelyaman

Keyword(s):

Big Data ◽

Data Privacy ◽

Ethical Issues ◽

Standard Of Care ◽

Healthcare Sector ◽

Useful Knowledge ◽

Healthcare Data ◽

Big Data Streams ◽

Privacy Issues ◽

Collection Methods

Download Full-text

The ethics of digital ethnography in a team project

Applied Linguistics Review ◽

10.1515/applirev-2016-1040 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 8 (2-3) ◽

pp. 271-292 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Caroline Tagg ◽

Agnieszka Lyons ◽

Rachel Hu ◽

Frances Rock

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Ethical Issues ◽

Communication Technologies ◽

Digital Data ◽

The Core ◽

Ethical Decisions ◽

Team Project ◽

Potential Impact ◽

Key Participants ◽

Made In

AbstractThis article draws on researcher vignettes to explore ethical decisions made in the process of collecting and analysing mobile messaging data as part of a team ethnographic project exploring multilingualism in superdiverse UK cities. The research involves observing key participants at work as well as recording them at home and collecting their digital interactions. The nature of ethnographic research raises ethical issues which highlight the impossibility of divorcing ethics from project decision-making. We therefore take on board a reconceptualisation of research ethics not as an external set of guidelines but as being at the core of research, driving decision-making at all steps of the process. The researcher vignettes on which we draw in exploring this process facilitate a reflexive approach and enable us to identify and address ethical issues in our research. In this article, we focus on the potential impact that digital communication technologies can have on the kinds of relationships that are possible between researchers and research participants, and on the roles that both carry out within the project. In doing so, we explore the part that digital communications play in the co-construction of social distance and closeness in research relationships. Our discussions around these issues highlight the need for an awareness not only of how our participants’ media ideologies shape their use and perceptions of digital technologies, but also how our own assumptions inform our handling of the digital data.

Download Full-text

Examining the ethical challenges in managing elder abuse: a systematic review

Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine ◽

10.18502/jmehm.v12i7.1115 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Afsaneh Saghafi ◽

Fatemeh Bahramnezhad ◽

Afsaneh Poormollamirza ◽

Ali Dadgari ◽

Elham Navab

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Ethical Issues ◽

Elder Abuse ◽

Scientific Information ◽

Ethical Principles ◽

Care Providers ◽

Ethical Challenges ◽

Common Definition ◽

Study Results

Elder abuse is an increasingly intangible phenomenon that has created numerous ethical issues for care teams and caregivers. Although different studies have concentrated on various ethical issues regarding abuse, no study has arrived at a comprehensive conclusion. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the existing ethical challenges in this context. For this purpose, two researchers familiar with systematic search approach examined national and international journals on PubMed, Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE), Scientific Information Database (SID) and similar databases between January and February 2017. They were able to find 116 articles that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and finally selected 15 articles based on the predesigned questions. The findings were classified in five subtitles as follow: 1) the common definition of elder abuse, 2) a comprehensive legislation on elder abuse, 3) comprehensive ethical principles about elder abuse, 4) ethical considerations regarding patients without competency, and 5) reporting and sharing information about elder abuse. The study results revealed no common definition and no legislation about elder abuse, and also showed that health care providers’ observance of ethical principles depends on the ethical and legal conditions of the community. Nowadays, elder abuse is a serious problem in many countries. Cultural and religious differences are the reasons for lack of a common definition and legislations, which comprises the biggest obstacle to protecting the rights of elderly people. It is clear that ethical principles should be respected as far as a person has competency. Furthermore, localization of clinical guidelines related to this issue leads to proper functioning of health care providers, especially nurses as the first line of treatment

Download Full-text

The full spectrum of ethical issues in pediatric genome-wide sequencing: a systematic qualitative review

BMC Pediatrics ◽

10.1186/s12887-021-02830-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Johanna Eichinger ◽

Bernice S. Elger ◽

Insa Koné ◽

Isabel Filges ◽

David Shaw ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Ethical Issues ◽

Qualitative Content Analysis ◽

Test Procedure ◽

Economic Incentives ◽

Empirical Literature ◽

Ethical Challenges ◽

Full Spectrum ◽

Genome Wide ◽

Google Books

Abstract Background The use of genome-wide sequencing in pediatric medicine and research is growing exponentially. While this has many potential benefits, the normative and empirical literature has highlighted various ethical issues. There have not been, however, any systematic reviews of these issues. The aim of this systematic review is to determine systematically the spectrum of ethical issues that is raised for stakeholders in in pediatric genome-wide sequencing. Methods A systematic review in PubMed and Google Books (publications in English or German between 2004 and 2021) was conducted. Further references were identified via reference screening. Data were analyzed and synthesized using qualitative content analysis. Ethical issues were defined as arising when a relevant normative principle is not adequately considered or when two principles come into conflict. Results Our literature search retrieved 3175 publications of which 143 were included in the analysis. Together these mentioned 106 ethical issues in pediatric genome-wide sequencing, categorized into five themes along the pediatric genome-wide sequencing lifecycle. Most ethical issues identified in relation to genome-wide sequencing typically reflect ethical issues that arise in general genetic testing, but they are often amplified by the increased quantity of data obtained, and associated uncertainties. The most frequently discussed ethical aspects concern the issue of unsolicited findings. Conclusion Concentration of the debate on unsolicited findings risks overlooking other ethical challenges. An overarching difficulty presents the terminological confusion: both with regard to both the test procedure/ the scope of analysis, as well as with the topic of unsolicited findings. It is important that the genetics and ethics communities together with other medical professions involved work jointly on specific case related guidelines to grant the maximum benefit for the care of the children, while preventing patient harm and disproportionate overload of clinicians and the healthcare system by the wealth of available options and economic incentives to increase testing.

Download Full-text