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Wesson P, Hswen Y, Valdes G, Stojanovski K, Handley MA. Risks and Opportunities to Ensure Equity in the Application of Big Data Research in Public Health. Annu Rev Public Health 2022; 43:59-78. [PMID: 34871504 PMCID: PMC8983486 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-051920-110928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The big data revolution presents an exciting frontier to expand public health research, broadening the scope of research and increasing the precision of answers. Despite these advances, scientists must be vigilant against also advancing potential harms toward marginalized communities. In this review, we provide examples in which big data applications have (unintentionally) perpetuated discriminatory practices, while also highlighting opportunities for big data applications to advance equity in public health. Here, big data is framed in the context of the five Vs (volume, velocity, veracity, variety, and value), and we propose a sixth V, virtuosity, which incorporates equity and justice frameworks. Analytic approaches to improving equity are presented using social computational big data, fairness in machine learning algorithms, medical claims data, and data augmentation as illustrations. Throughout, we emphasize the biasing influence of data absenteeism and positionality and conclude with recommendations for incorporating an equity lens into big data research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Wesson
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA;
- Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Yulin Hswen
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA;
- Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Gilmer Valdes
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA;
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Kristefer Stojanovski
- Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
- Department of Social, Behavioral and Population Sciences, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
| | - Margaret A Handley
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA;
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
- Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, San Francisco, California, USA
- Partnerships for Research in Implementation Science for Equity (PRISE), University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
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