Secondary Data for Global Health Digitalization

Significant opportunities for global health intelligence arise from the combined and optimized usage of secondary data indicating health status. Meant for purposes other than those intended by reuse, these data are gathered from novel sources such as mobile apps, wearable devices, the world wide web, electronic health records, or genome sequencing. In order to utilize the full potential of such data, we offer guidance by outlining available data types and existing approaches for data processing. Furthermore, we propose indicators for the regulatory, qualitative, and ethical assessment of strategies for the better usage of secondary data. This supports more precise and effective policy decision-making leading to earlier detection and better prevention of emerging global health threats