Quantified self - halfway between lifestyle and medicine
At a glance
- Project leader : Prof. Dr. Heidrun Becker
- Deputy of project leader : Ursula Meidert
- Project team : Michaela Evers-Wölk, Gabriel Eyyi, Stefan Hegyi, Mattis Jacobs, Britta Oertel, Yvonne Prieur, Mandy Scheermesser, Prof. Dr. Kurt Stockinger
- Project status : completed
- Funding partner : Third party
- Project partner : Institut für Zukunftsstudien und Technologiebewertung IZT
- Contact person : Ursula Meidert
Description
Starting position
Inexpensive sensors in portable devices and an increasing number of
applications (apps) for lifestyle, wellness and health tracking
allow users to record their physical activity and behaviour. This
self-tracking has become known as Quantified Self (QS) and provides
a wealth of data (big data) that does not only arouse hope for new
insights in people using self-trackers but also in players in the
health sector and the industry who likewise want to benefit from
the data evaluations. However, little is known so far about the
possible consequences, opportunities and risks for individuals,
organisations and society arising from self-tracking
technologies.
Target
The "Quantified Self - Interface between Lifestyle and Medicine"
project is a study that aims to provide an overview of the current
status of self-tracking as well as future trends. It assesses
strengths and weaknesses as well as the opportunities and risks by
taking into account the implications for social, medical, economic,
technical, legal and ethical perspectives. These findings then
enable the project team to issue recommendations for
decision-makers that should serve to exploit the opportunities
arising from the use of QS while controlling the associated
risks.
Methods
The project is divided into the following four subprojects: (1)
Current status and trend analysis, (2) User survey, (3) Overall
assessment and recommendations, and (4) Dissemination of results.
The aim of subproject (1) was to collect information on the current
status and future developments of QS through literature and
document review in the areas under investigation. This knowledge
gained was then supplemented by interviews conducted with 19
experts on the subject. Subproject (2) explored the benefits and
reasons for using and the implications of QS by assessing the
perspectives of users and health professionals with focus group
interviews, an online survey and the survey of a so-called QS user
group. Subproject (3) constituted a workshop as a follow-up for the
interdisciplinary analysis of the resultant findings in respect to
opportunities and risks. The outcomes were evaluated in a
subsequent overall assessment to draw specific recommendations for
action for different decision-makers and stakeholders. Last but not
least, subproject (4) deals with the dissemination of the research
results.
Results
There is no standardised definition of QS. Therefore, in the
context of this study, the term is understood as follows:
Quantified Self (QS) is characterised by the fact that a person
actively tracks his or her activity through sensors on devices and
applications to generate knowledge from data-based findings that
help improve lifestyle and behaviour in areas such as fitness,
wellness and health.
The variety of devices and apps available for self-tracking can legally be divided into consumer and medical devices. Products for QS are considered consumer products, when they are used in the area of lifestyle, well-ness, fitness or health, and are regulated by Consumer Rights. Most of the products currently available on the market fall into this category. The use of medical devices, however, serves an intended medical purpose, which is why they are subject to the strict Swiss Therapeutic Products Act.
The phenomenon of self-tracking is not an invention of modern times. Man has been monitoring himself for centuries, the best known example of this is body weight. From a social perspective, various developments have contributed to the importance of digital self-quantifying such as: new technologies, cultural changes and people's changing communication behaviours, which all lead to the greater importance of individualisation through its orientation towards the social ideal of self-optimisation and individual responsibility. Today, the body is seen as a result of personal achievement and no longer as a biological destiny. Personal economic awareness of individuals is gaining in importance and has implications in the shifting of the responsibility from health professionals to the individual in disease treatment and prevention and hence illustrates and underlines the paradigm shift in healthcare provision. Digital self-tracking is part of it and fosters its development.
QS applications are already being tested in the medical field, especially in the treatment of chronic disease. However, the Swiss healthcare sector is still somewhat hesitant with regard to its use, even though QS applications are credited with great potential. The main reason for this is the lack of reliability in collected data, incomplete evidence regarding effectiveness and the lack of quality standards for existing devices and apps.
Despite constantly improved sensor technology, the insufficient data security and the poor data quality of the products (wearables) constitute a major problem from a technical point of view. The large amounts of data and the aggregation of different data sources further represent a major technical challenge.
From a business viewpoint, vendors of QS products and services are players in the healthcare sector and, increasingly, also commercial and telecommunication companies. Smartphones are the preferred hardware for tracking health data in Switzerland; wearables are much less common. The Swiss watch industry is increasingly cooperating with technology companies in order to remain competitive in the market with smartwatches. Health-related apps also show high growth rates. Just as for research, a number of economic players, such as insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industry, are equally interested in the collection of personal data by means of self-tracking.
Foreign suppliers who want to market QS products in Switzerland frequently do not adhere to the regulatory requirements. Also, developers and providers who are new to the healthcare market often do not know or choose to ignore these standards. Customers frequently have to overcome high barriers to assert and enforce their claims in cross-border legal disputes with providers. This is equally true from a legal point of view as far as concerns inadequately guaranteed data protection from the manufacturers and service providers in the use of QS products through to the misuse of data.
From a legal ethics point of view, different ideas prevail with respect to QS. Some authors consider QS a driver for innovation while others highlight the risks to values such as privacy, transparency, (informational) self-determination, equality and solidarity.
Opportunities and risks of QS arise for (1) individuals, (2) institutions, organisations and companies, and (3) society as a whole and relate primarily to health, privacy and ethics. Today these risks do not necessarily indicate a need for action, especially if existing standards and law enforcement are sufficient to limit a fundamental risk. To benefit from the opportunities that QS applications offer, a few more steps have to be taken. These have been listed as explicit recommendations for action.
Further information
- https://www.ta-swiss.ch/projekte-und-publikationen/biotechnologie-und-medizin/quantified-self/
- e-Book vdf quantified self
Publications
-
Meidert, Ursula; Scheermesser, Mandy,
2022.
Verschiedene Gesundheitskonzepte im Rahmen der digitalen Selbstvermessung
.
In:
Cappel, Valeska; Kappler, Karolin Eva, eds.,
Gesundheit – Konventionen – Digitalisierung : eine politische Ökonomie der (digitalen) Transformationsprozesse von und um Gesundheit.
Wiesbaden:
Springer.
pp. 335-359.
Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-34306-4_12
-
Meidert, Ursula; Scheermesser, Mandy,
2021.
Quantified self-technologies for better a disease management?.
In:
2021 Congress of the Swiss Sociological Association : "Social Justice in Times of Uncertainty", Geneva, Switzerland (online), 28-30 June 2021.
-
Scheermesser, Mandy; Meidert, Ursula,
2018.
Eine Nutzungstypologie der Selbstvermesser/-innen [paper].
In:
Dreiländerkongress Gesundheits- und Medizinsoziologie 2018, Graz, Österreich, 5.-6. April 2018.
-
Seifert, Alexander; Meidert, Ursula,
2018.
„Quantified seniors“ : technisch unterstützte Selbstvermessung bei älteren Personen.
Prävention und Gesundheitsförderung.
13(4), pp. 353-360.
Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11553-018-0646-1
-
Scheermesser, Mandy; Meidert, Ursula; Evers-Wölk, Michaela; Prieur, Yvonne; Hegyi, Stefan; Becker, Heidrun Karin,
2018.
Die digitale Selbstvermessung in Lifestyle und Medizin : eine Studie zur Technikfolgenabschätzung.
Technikfolgenabschätzung - Theorie und Praxis.
27(3), pp. 57-62.
Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-4987
-
Scheermesser, Mandy; Meidert, Ursula,
2018.
Exploring quantified self attitudes and practices [paper].
In:
SEG-SSE-SAA Annual Meeting «Knowledge (Trans) Formations in Anthropology», Zurich, 22-23 November 2018.
-
Meidert, Ursula; Becker, Heidrun Karin; Scheermesser, Mandy,
2018.
In:
World Congress of Occupational Therapy (WFOT), Cape Town, South Africa, 21-25 May 2018.
-
Meidert, Ursula; Scheermesser, Mandy; Becker, Heidrun Karin,
2018.
Partizipation von Patientinnen und Patienten durch Selbstvermessung?.
In:
Swiss eHealth Summit «Patients Leading the Digital Transformation», Bern, 12. September 2018.
-
Meidert, Ursula; Scheermesser, Mandy; Becker, Heidrun Karin,
2018.
In:
Swiss Congress for Health Professions, Zürich, 3.-4. September 2018.
-
2018.
Quantified self : interface between lifestyle and medicine.
In:
Molecular Solutions Symposium 2018, Bern, 31 October 2018.
-
Meidert, Ursula; Scheermesser, Mandy; Prieur, Yvonne; Hegyi, Stefan; Stockinger, Kurt; Eyyi, Gabriel; Evers-Wölk, Michaela; Jacob, Mattis; Oertel, Britta; Becker, Heidrun Karin,
2018.
Quantified Self : Schnittstelle zwischen Lifestyle und Medizin.
Zürich:
vdf Hochschulverlag.
ISBN 978-3-7281-3891-0.
Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-1941
-
2017.
Apps, Wearables und Co - Vernetzte Gesundheit (auch) für ältere Menschen?.
In:
Schärme-Symposium, Sarnen, 26. Oktober 2017.
Sarnen:
Stiftung Zukunft Alter – Wohnen und Betreuung.
-
Scheermesser, Mandy; Meidert, Ursula,
2017.
Gesundheitsapps und Fitnesstracker – Was taugen sie in der Praxis?.
In:
Symposium Technologien in der Therapie «Vom Smartphone bis zur Robotik», Winterthur, 16. September 2017.
Winterthur:
ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften.
-
Meidert, Ursula; Becker, Heidrun Karin,
2017.
Wearables und Apps : Chancen und Risiken für die Anwendung in der Therapie.
In:
Symposium Technologien in der Therapie «Vom Smartphone bis zur Robotik», Winterthur, 16. September 2017.
Winterthur:
ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften.
-
2017.
Quantified Self – Schnittstelle zwischen Lifestyle und Medizin. Wie ändert sich das Verhalten?.
In:
Med forum 2017: Der transparente Versicherungskunde im 21. Jahrhundert? Zürich, 23. August 2017.
-
Meidert, Ursula; Scheermesser, Mandy,
2017.
Quantified self : Gesundheitsoptimierung durch Selbstvermessung.
In:
Schweizer Soziologiekongress, Zürich, 21.-23. Juni 2017.
-
Becker, Heidrun Karin; Meidert, Ursula,
2017.
Selbstvermessung – Schnittstelle zwischen Lifestyle und Medizin [paper].
In:
Vortragsreihe Wissen-schaf(f)t Wissen, Universität Zürich.
Zürich:
Zurich Center for Integrative Human Physiology.
Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-1454