A Novel Assistant for Public Health Information

Our team, working under the guidance of the Public Health Agency of Canada, was tasked with understanding the public’s perception of sharing personal health information with public health agencies for the collective good. One of the challenges in the battle with COVID-19 was the misinterpretation of crucial public health information during a health crisis, which created panic and anxiety among people. PHAC shared with us how many Canadians use technologies to track their health on a daily basis, which could be valuable for future public healthcare initiatives and policy development.

To identify gaps of trust between people and public health organizations, we focused on wearable device users who regularly monitor their health to understand their motivations and perception towards sharing this information with public health agencies for the collective good. Our aim was to make people feel empowered and well-informed about their data decisions for public health.

We conducted literature reviews on the reliability of information collected on wearable devices, people’s motivation behind monitoring health, policies in place to safeguard privacy, and the measures taken around the globe. From this, we found that willingness to share personal health information depends on public involvement in the decision-making process and the importance of public trust when planning new technology offerings at a population scale.

Using a mixed-method approach, we designed our research using surveys and semi-structured interviews with participants and subject matter experts. We received 68 responses covering a range of demographics and conducted 16 moderated interviews to gain a deeper understanding of the participant responses. After organizing all of the qualitative and quantitative data, we developed insights and recommendations based on what we gathered.

We found that most people in Canada trust the privacy regulations in place and are willing to share their information with Public Health agencies as long as they are well-informed about the intent. Another important discovery was how many of them found the information presented on various public health information sources needed to be shorter, more complex and easier to understand.

Based on these findings, we developed two broad interventions that can help people feel involved and empowered about sharing their health information by making sure the public health information they access is quick, easy to understand, and accessible. Our solution involves emerging technologies like AI as an assistive tool that can help people summarize, explain, translate, and simplify complicated information or policies in Canada.

The critical function of this tool can be providing answers to various questions about Canada’s public health in a simple-to-understand language. This includes alerting people of nearby high-risk diseases so that they can stay well informed about disease prevention. Additionally, the tool can synthesize complex health-related documents for users by scanning, translating, or simplifying information like personal health records.

In conclusion, our project aimed to identify gaps of trust between people and public health organizations and to make people feel empowered and well-informed about their data decisions for public health. By providing access to quick and easy-to-understand public health information, we can help bridge the gap of trust between people and public health organizations, empowering people to make informed decisions about their health data and participate in public health initiatives that benefit the collective good.