ArticlePloS one2018
Considerations for ethics review of big data health research: A scoping review.
Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 70 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
70 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 250 citations in OpenAlex.
- Narratives and tensions in the ethics of human proteomics literature: a scoping review.BMC medical ethics · 2026Pooled it
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- Ethical and social considerations of applying artificial intelligence in healthcare-a two-pronged scoping review.BMC medical ethics · 2025Article
- Exploring the Views of Young People, Including Those With a History of Self-Harm, on the Use of Their Routinely Generated Data for Mental Health Research: Web-Based Cross-Sectional Survey Study.JMIR mental health · 2025Article
- Realizing the promise of machine learning in precision oncology: expert perspectives on opportunities and challenges.BMC cancer · 2025Article
- Ethical challenges of conducting and reviewing human genomics research in Malaysia: An exploratory study.Developing world bioethics · 2024Article
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- Reducing privacy risks of China's healthcare big data through the policy framework.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
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- Ethical guidance for conducting health research with online communities: A scoping review of existing guidance.PloS one · 2024Article
- Cross-border data sharing through the lens of research ethics committee members in sub-Saharan Africa.PloS one · 2024Article
- Does Legislation Impede Data Sharing in Australia Across Institutions and Jurisdictions? A Scoping Review.Journal of medical systems · 2023Article
- Artificial intelligence and medical research databases: ethical review by data access committees.BMC medical ethics · 2023Article
- Web based research in sexual medicine: a position statement of the European Society for Sexual Medicine.Sexual medicine · 2023Review
- Primary healthcare needs and service utilisation of people with disability: a data linkage protocol.BMJ open · 2023Article
- Reframing data ethics in research methods education: a pathway to critical data literacy.International journal of educational technology in higher education · 2023Article
- Article
- The evolution of Big Data in neuroscience and neurology.Journal of big data · 2023Article
- Article
10 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Big data trends in biomedical and health research enable large-scale and multi-dimensional aggregation and analysis of heterogeneous data sources, which could ultimately result in preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic benefit. The methodological novelty and computational complexity of big data health research raises novel challenges for ethics review. In this study, we conducted a scoping review of the literature using five databases to identify and map the major challenges of health-related big data for Ethics Review Committees (ERCs) or analogous institutional review boards. A total of 1093 publications were initially identified, 263 of which were included in the final synthesis after abstract and full-text screening performed independently by two researchers. Both a descriptive numerical summary and a thematic analysis were performed on the full-texts of all articles included in the synthesis. Our findings suggest that while big data trends in biomedicine hold the potential for advancing clinical research, improving prevention and optimizing healthcare delivery, yet several epistemic, scientific and normative challenges need careful consideration. These challenges have relevance for both the composition of ERCs and the evaluation criteria that should be employed by ERC members when assessing the methodological and ethical viability of health-related big data studies. Based on this analysis, we provide some preliminary recommendations on how ERCs could adaptively respond to those challenges. This exploration is designed to synthesize useful information for researchers, ERCs and relevant institutional bodies involved in the conduction and/or assessment of health-related big data research.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.