Ethical Use of Wearable Device Data in Occupational Settings: Perspectives From the Fire Service

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health and Safety
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Public Health

Background:

• Growing interest in wearable technology for enhancing firefighter health and safety.
• Limited existing research on data privacy preferences within the fire service.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate firefighter and leadership perspectives on wearable technology data privacy.
• To identify potential benefits, concerns, and ethical considerations for wearable implementation in fire departments.

Main Methods:

• Conducted 4 focus groups and 35 interviews with 65 career firefighters and fire department/union leaders in Maryland and Virginia.
• Included national-level leaders in the study conducted between March and November 2023.

Main Results:

• Leadership expressed optimism regarding wearable data for benefits, safety, prevention, and administrative goals.
• Firefighters highlighted trade-offs between safety, autonomy, privacy, and job status, opposing on-call use.
• Identified key implementation barriers and conditions for ethical wearable technology deployment.

Conclusions:

• Wearable technology holds potential for improving firefighter health and safety.
• Ethical implementation necessitates respecting firefighter autonomy and privacy preferences.