Digital tools against COVID-19: taxonomy, ethical challenges, and navigation aid

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Digital Health
• Bioethics

Background:

• Governments and corporations promote digital public health technologies for COVID-19 pandemic mitigation and easing lockdowns.
• The ethical and legal implications of using digital tools for disease surveillance and control remain unclear.
• A global debate is ongoing regarding the benefits and risks of digital public health tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a typology of current digital public health applications for scientists and policymakers.
• To discuss context-specific risks, cross-sectional issues, and ethical concerns associated with these technologies.
• To offer a navigation aid for the ethical development and deployment of digital public health tools.

Main Methods:

• Categorization of primary digital public health applications.
• Analysis of risks, issues, and ethical concerns for each application.
• Development of a practical guidance framework for decision-makers.

Main Results:

• Identified key digital public health applications: proximity/contact tracing, symptom monitoring, quarantine control, and flow modelling.
• Detailed context-specific risks, cross-sectional issues, and ethical considerations for each category.
• Proposed a navigation aid to address ethical uncertainties in digital public health.

Conclusions:

• Digital public health tools offer potential benefits but require careful ethical and legal consideration.
• A structured approach is needed to navigate the complexities of digital public health implementation.
• Guidance is essential for the responsible innovation and use of these technologies in public health.