ArticleFrontiers in digital health2021
The Sociotechnical Ethics of Digital Health: A Critique and Extension of Approaches From Bioethics.
Article in Frontiers in digital health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The gaps and challenges in digital health technology use as perceived by patients: a scoping review and narrative meta-synthesis.Frontiers in digital health · 2025Pooled it
- Non-empirical methods for ethics research on digital technologies in medicine, health care and public health: a systematic journal review.Medicine, health care, and philosophy · 2024Pooled it
- Intraoperative application of mixed and augmented reality for digital surgery: a systematic review of ethical issues.Frontiers in surgery · 2024Pooled it
- Fostering hand disinfections in medical facilities: discussion of ethical conflicts and technical solutions.BMC medical ethics · 2026Article
- Healthcare Professionals' Perceptions of AI-Assisted Clinical Decision-Making in Jordan: A Qualitative Study of Trust, Accountability, System Readiness, and Professional Practice.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Co-designing a culturally appropriate mHealth physical activity intervention for midlife women experiencing menopause in Saudi Arabia: stakeholder recommendations.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Femtech in context: A critical conceptual (re)view.Health (London, England : 1997) · 2026Review
- Negotiating privacy and responsibility in digital public health: a qualitative study of the social and ethical implications of peer-to-peer health data sharing.Frontiers in digital health · 2026Article
- Contested futures of AI ethics for global population health.BMJ digital health & AI · 2026Review
- Impact of a "Digital Health" Curriculum on Students' Perception About Competence and Relevance of Digital Health Topics for Future Professional Challenges: Prospective Pilot Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Examining Practices Related to Ethical Aspects in eHealth Evaluation Research: Protocol for a Scoping Review.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- Top 10 Public Health Challenges for 2024: Charting a New Direction for Global Health Security.Public health challenges · 2025Article
- Perceived clinical and ethical impact of digital transformation in healthcare and research: A survey in the MENA region.PloS one · 2025Article
- Article
- Assessing Telemedicine Demand and Viability in Indonesian Geriatric Clinics: A Comprehensive HOT FIT and Sociotechnical AnalysisCurrent aging science · 2025Article
- A broader approach to ethical challenges in digital mental health.World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) · 2024Article
- Digital health in stroke: a narrative review.Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria · 2024Review
- Expanding a Behavioral View on Digital Health Access: Drivers and Strategies to Promote Equity.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- The Political Economy of Digital Health Equity: Structural Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Action Opportunities to Pursue Responsible Digital Care for People With Intellectual Disabilities: Qualitative Study.JMIR mental health · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The widespread adoption of digital technologies raises important ethical issues in health care and public health. In our view, understanding these ethical issues demands a perspective that looks beyond the technology itself to include the sociotechnical system in which it is situated. In this sense, a sociotechnical system refers to the broader collection of material devices, interpersonal relationships, organizational policies, corporate contracts, and government regulations that shape the ways in which digital health technologies are adopted and used. Bioethical approaches to the assessment of digital health technologies are typically confined to ethical issues raised by features of the technology itself. We suggest that an ethical perspective confined to functions of the technology is insufficient to assess the broader impact of the adoption of technologies on the care environment and the broader health-related ecosystem of which it is a part. In this paper we review existing approaches to the bioethics of digital health, and draw on concepts from design ethics and science & technology studies (STS) to critique a narrow view of the bioethics of digital health. We then describe the sociotechnical system produced by digital health technologies when adopted in health care environments, and outline the various considerations that demand attention for a comprehensive ethical analysis of digital health technologies in this broad perspective. We conclude by outlining the importance of social justice for ethical analysis from a sociotechnical perspective.
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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.