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Attitudes Toward Sharing mHealth and Wearable Data for Primary and Secondary Uses: A Systematic Review
ABSTRACT
Background:
When individuals share data from mobile health (mHealth) apps and wearable devices (wearables), they contribute to an expanding ecosystem where data serve both primary and secondary purposes. Understanding their perspectives is crucial for developing responsible and transparent practices.
Objective:
This review aims to synthesize evidence on public and individual perspectives regarding the sharing of data generated from mobile health apps and wearable devices.
Methods:
We conducted a mixed-methods systematic search of three databases (PubMed, Embase, and Google Scholar). Quantitative findings were summarized narratively, and qualitative findings underwent inductive thematic analysis
Results:
After screening 346 records, 31 studies met the inclusion criteria. Most studies reported positive attitudes toward data sharing for both primary and secondary uses, while only a minority reported conditional or reluctant attitudes. Individual characteristics such as age, health status, and familiarity with digital devices were identified as factors influencing data sharing. Other factors, including perceived health benefits and incentivization, were found to enhance sharing. Concerns across studies included perceived healthcare provider disinterest, privacy, trust, and transparency in data handling processes. Quality assessment of the included studies indicated moderate methodological quality, with risks of sampling bias and small sample sizes in qualitative studies. Nevertheless, recurring themes across studies provide valuable insights for interpreting the findings
Conclusions:
Individuals are generally willing to share data from mobile health apps and wearable devices, particularly for primary use, although willingness for secondary use remains more conditional. Persistent concerns about privacy, trust, and data handling highlight the importance of building user confidence in data-sharing processes. Effective strategies to promote data sharing should focus on policies for primary and secondary data users that build public trust, reduce systemic barriers, and strengthen facilitators to encourage participation
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Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.