ABSTRACT

Data from digital technologies are increasingly integrated in public health research. In April of 2020, we interviewed a subset of participants (N = 25) who completed a survey approximately one month earlier (just prior to the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States). Using the survey, we contacted and interviewed participants who had expressed their willingness or unwillingness to share digital data (e.g., from contact tracing apps) for use in public health. We followed a directed content analysis approach for the analysis of the interview data. Among participants who had reported being unwilling to share data, concerns about privacy, confidentiality, and the purpose of the research were cited. During the interviews, 76.9% of the participants who had who had previously indicated that they were unwilling to share their data, expressed willingness to share data in order to assist with COVID-19 prevention. Our results contribute to our understanding of people’s perspectives on sharing personal data and of the way their perspectives can vary as a function of potential uses of their personal information (e.g., prevention of COVID-19).

 抽象的

来自数字技术的数据越来越多地融入公共卫生研究中。 2020 年 4 月，我们采访了一部分参与者 (N = 25)，他们在大约一个月前（就在美国宣布 COVID-19 大流行之前）完成了一项调查。通过这项调查，我们联系并采访了那些表示愿意或不愿意共享用于公共卫生的数字数据（例如来自接触者追踪应用程序）的参与者。我们采用定向内容分析方法来分析访谈数据。那些表示不愿意共享数据的参与者提到了对隐私、保密性和研究目的的担忧。在访谈中，76.9% 此前曾表示不愿意分享数据的参与者表示愿意分享数据以协助预防 COVID-19。我们的结果有助于我们了解人们对共享个人数据的看法，以及他们的观点如何随着其个人信息的潜在用途（例如，预防 COVID-19）而变化。