Lessons Learned: Beta-Testing the Digital Health Checklist for Researchers Prompts a Call to Action by Behavioral...

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Research Ethics
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Digital technologies present novel opportunities for health research, including public health surveillance and real-time data collection for interventions.
• The increasing use of digital tools in research necessitates careful consideration of participant risks and benefits.
• Underregulated wellness apps and fitness sensors pose challenges for researchers and institutional review boards (IRBs).

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the lack of guidance for evaluating digital tools in research.
• To introduce the Digital Health Checklist for Researchers (DHC-R) as a decision support tool.
• To provide recommendations for ethical digital health research.

Main Methods:

• A participatory research approach involving behavioral scientists.
• Development of the Digital Health Checklist for Researchers (DHC-R).
• Beta-testing of the DHC-R by scientists retrospectively evaluating digital technologies used in their research.

Main Results:

• Lessons learned from the beta-testing process of the DHC-R.
• Identification of the DHC-R's utility for various digital health stakeholders.
• Insights into the challenges and best practices for ethical digital health research.

Conclusions:

• The DHC-R can assist researchers and IRBs in evaluating digital tools for research.
• Recommendations are provided for future research and policy development to support ethical digital health research.
• The development of best practices is crucial for advancing safe and responsible digital health research.