Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41958455›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in digital health2026

Negotiating privacy and responsibility in digital public health: a qualitative study of the social and ethical implications of peer-to-peer health data sharing.

Jens Lindberg, Anna Sofia Lundgren, Malin Eriksson, Helena Lindgren

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in digital health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Jens LindbergDepartment of Social Work, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
Anna Sofia LundgrenDepartment of Culture and Media Studies, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
Malin ErikssonSchool of Social Science, Södertörn University, Huddinge, Sweden.
Helena LindgrenDepartment of Computing Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: Peer-to-peer sharing of personal health data on social media is increasingly used as a strategy to support public health goals. Such sharing is often assumed to motivate individuals to adopt or maintain healthy behaviors. However, the social and ethical implications of sharing-based interventions remain insufficiently examined. This paper offers an empirical and theoretical contribution by foregrounding the socio-technical contexts of sharing and analyzing how sharing-based interventions may drive social change. Building on these insights, it also outlines ethical considerations for researchers and stakeholders. Method: We conducted 22 semi-structured interviews with participants in a regional public health intervention in Sweden. Interviews focused on participants' experiences of receiving personal health data and their reflections on sharing such data on social media. Analysis was guided by reflexive thematic analysis and informed by theoretical perspectives on the socio-technical embeddedness of health data and sharing practices. Results: Participants understood health data as both personal and communal. Although many expressed discomfort with disclosing sensitive health information online, the peer-to-peer sharing model fostered a perceived moral obligation to share data for collective benefit. Discussion: The tension between personal boundaries and perceived communal obligations raises important ethical concerns, particularly when individuals feel pressured to share data they would prefer to keep private. Our findings underscore the need for ethical frameworks that address social pressures, consent, and the emotional dimensions of data sharing. To support sustainable and ethical public health practices, further qualitative research is essential-particularly to understand how individuals navigate obligations and risks in technology-mediated care, and how these dynamics shape values such as autonomy, well-being, and collective responsibility.

Indexed as

dataficationdigital healthethics - care ethicshealth datahealth informationpeer-to-peer sharingpublic healthsocial media

Identifiers

PMID41958455
PMCPMC13057439

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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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 Socratic graph.