ECRA Member Hans-Henrik Dassow:
"We need to agree in a democratic society on how to ensure responsible use of digital interventions in public health care."
My research is dedicated to the ethical implications of digital interventions in public health promotion (Digital Public Health). I want to show which normative conflicts are revealed by digital interventions in public health promotion. An example could be the assumption of costs by public health insurances for nutrition or fitness apps. In this way, insured people are persuaded to adopt healthier lifestyles, while costs to the public health system are reduced. At the same time, people fear misuse of their health data or feel pressured by their fitness app, which can promote stress and other diseases. Accordingly, the positive effects of digital interventions can turn into their opposite at a certain point. It is these trade-off processes that I would like to address with my research. In a first step, I will describe and categorize digital interventions in detail with regard to their functions and the resulting ethical implications. Then, in a second step, I would like to address the emerging ethical issues related to the use of digital technologies in public health promotion, incorporating different needs, perspectives, and viewpoints. Ideally, I will succeed in contributing to a scientific debate through my research, which will radiate into the political public.