Majority (55.5 percent) were equally worried about the privacy of medical  
  records, DNA data, and facial images collected for precision health research  
    
    
    Date:  
        October 14, 2021  
    Source:  
        Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago  
    Summary:  
        Uses of facial images and facial recognition technologies -- to  
        unlock a phone or in airport security -- are becoming increasingly  
        common in everyday life. But how do people feel about using such  
        data in healthcare and biomedical research?  
    
    
  FULL STORY  
  ==========================================================================  
  Uses of facial images and facial recognition technologies -- to unlock  
  a phone or in airport security -- are becoming increasingly common in  
  everyday life.  
    
  But how do people feel about using such data in healthcare and biomedical  
  research?  
    
  ==========================================================================  
  Through surveying over 4,000 US adults, researchers found that a  
  significant proportion of respondents considered the use of facial  
  image data in healthcare across eight varying scenarios as unacceptable  
  (15-25 percent). Taken with those that responded as unsure of whether the  
  uses were acceptable, roughly 30- 50 percent of respondents indicated  
  some degree of concern for uses of facial recognition technologies in  
  healthcare scenarios. Whereas using facial image data in some cases --  
  such as to avoid medical errors, for diagnosis and screening, or for  
  security -- was acceptable to the majority, more than half of respondents  
  did not accept or were uncertain about healthcare providers using this  
  data to monitor patients' emotions or symptoms, or for health research.  
    
  In the biomedical research setting, most respondents were equally worried  
  about the use of medical records, DNA data and facial image data in  
  a study.  
    
  While respondents were a diverse group in terms of age, geographic region,  
  gender, racial and ethnic background, educational attainment, household  
  income, and political views, their perspectives on these issues did not  
  differ by demographics. Findings were published in the journal PLOS ONE.  
    
  "Our results show that a large segment of the public perceives a potential  
  privacy threat when it comes to using facial image data in healthcare,"  
  said lead author Sara Katsanis, who heads the Genetics and Justice  
  Laboratory at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and is  
  a Research Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University  
  Feinberg School of Medicine.  
    
  "To ensure public trust, we need to consider greater protections for  
  personal information in healthcare settings, whether it relates to  
  medical records, DNA data, or facial images. As facial recognition  
  technologies become more common, we need to be prepared to explain how  
  patient and participant data will be kept confidential and secure."  
  Senior author Jennifer K. Wagner, Assistant Professor of Law, Policy and  
  Engineering in Penn State's School of Engineering Design, Technology, and  
  Professional Programs adds: "Our study offers an important opportunity for  
  those pursuing possible use of facial analytics in healthcare settings  
  and biomedical research to think about human-centeredness in a more  
  meaningful way.  
    
  The research that we are doing hopefully will help decisionmakers find  
  ways to facilitate biomedical innovation in a thoughtful, responsible way  
  that does not undermine public trust."  The research team, which includes  
  co-authors with expertise in bioethics, law, genomics, facial analytics,  
  and bioinformatics, hopes to conduct further research to understand the  
  nuances where public trust is lacking.  
    
  ==========================================================================  
  Story Source: Materials provided by  
  Ann_&_Robert_H._Lurie_Children's_Hospital_of_Chicago.  
    
  Note: Content may be edited for style and length.  
    
    
  ==========================================================================  
  Journal Reference:  
     1. Sara H. Katsanis, Peter Claes, Megan Doerr, Robert Cook-Deegan,  
     Jessica  
        D. Tenenbaum, Barbara J. Evans, Myoung Keun Lee, Joel Anderton,  
        Seth M.  
    
        Weinberg, Jennifer K. Wagner. A survey of U.S. public perspectives  
        on facial recognition technology and facial imaging data practices  
        in health and research contexts. PLOS ONE, 2021; 16 (10): e0257923  
        DOI: 10.1371/ journal.pone.0257923  
  ==========================================================================  
    
  Link to news story:  
  https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/10/211014141836.htm  
    
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