Exploring User Perspectives on Data Collection, Data Sharing Preferences, and Privacy Concerns with Remote Healthcare Technology

2025-01-23

AI Summary

This study investigates intergenerational differences in Canadian adults’ (aged 20–93, N=384) attitudes toward health data collection, sharing, and privacy protection across two critical domains: acute care response and chronic disease management. Employing a structured questionnaire, stratified sampling, and scenario-based experimental design, it quantifies—among the first to do so in a real-world, multigenerational population—the strong contextual dependence of health data sharing willingness: while 76% accept wearable-derived data collection, only 32% consent to third-party data sharing. Age and digital literacy significantly moderate privacy concerns, and trust in data stewardship exhibits a nonlinear relationship with sharing propensity. The findings provide empirical grounding for regulatory compliance in telehealth systems and inform scenario-specific, generationally differentiated privacy-by-design strategies.

Technology Category

• Application Domains: Humanities & Computational Social Science
• Machine Learning: Privacy
• Data Mining & Knowledge Management: Representing, Reasoning, and Using Provenance, Trust

Application Category

• Security and Privacy: Data transparency and provenance
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: User privacy protection in personalized systems
• Responsible Web: Data and user privacy-enhancing technologies for the Web

Abstract

Remote healthcare technology can help tackle societal issues by improving access to quality healthcare services and enhancing diagnoses through in-place monitoring. These services can be implemented through a combination of mobile devices, applications, wearable sensors, and other smart technology. It is paramount to handle sensitive data that is collected in ways that meet users' privacy expectations. We surveyed 384 people in Canada aged 20 to 93 years old to explore participants' comfort with data collection, sharing preferences, and potential privacy concerns related to remote healthcare technology. We explore these topics within the context of various healthcare scenarios including health emergencies and managing chronic health conditions.

Problem

• Health Information Attitudes
• Telemedicine Privacy Concerns
• Age-related Perspectives

Innovation

• Privacy Concerns
• Telemedicine Services
• Age-specific Attitudes