Title |
Big Data and Dementia: Charting the Route Ahead for Research, Ethics, and Policy
|
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Published in |
Frontiers in Medicine, February 2018
|
DOI | 10.3389/fmed.2018.00013 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Marcello Ienca, Effy Vayena, Alessandro Blasimme |
Abstract |
Emerging trends in pervasive computing and medical informatics are creating the possibility for large-scale collection, sharing, aggregation and analysis of unprecedented volumes of data, a phenomenon commonly known as big data. In this contribution, we review the existing scientific literature on big data approaches to dementia, as well as commercially available mobile-based applications in this domain. Our analysis suggests that big data approaches to dementia research and care hold promise for improving current preventive and predictive models, casting light on the etiology of the disease, enabling earlier diagnosis, optimizing resource allocation, and delivering more tailored treatments to patients with specific disease trajectories. Such promissory outlook, however, has not materialized yet, and raises a number of technical, scientific, ethical, and regulatory challenges. This paper provides an assessment of these challenges and charts the route ahead for research, ethics, and policy. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 5 | 24% |
United Kingdom | 4 | 19% |
Switzerland | 3 | 14% |
Italy | 2 | 10% |
France | 1 | 5% |
Unknown | 6 | 29% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 14 | 67% |
Scientists | 5 | 24% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 1 | 5% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 5% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Unknown | 107 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Ph. D. Student | 21 | 20% |
Researcher | 16 | 15% |
Student > Master | 13 | 12% |
Student > Bachelor | 6 | 6% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 6 | 6% |
Other | 12 | 11% |
Unknown | 33 | 31% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Medicine and Dentistry | 17 | 16% |
Psychology | 9 | 8% |
Social Sciences | 8 | 7% |
Engineering | 6 | 6% |
Nursing and Health Professions | 5 | 5% |
Other | 24 | 22% |
Unknown | 38 | 36% |