The following cases are fictitious cases made up by the META team. Whenever they are inspired by our own or others’ real-life experiences or are inspired e.g. by news articles, we explain these sources. The cases are not meant to reflect reality in detail, as this is changing by the day. Rather, these stories try to circle around ethically relevant topics in an accessible way. Our aim is to motivate discussions and critical thinking about mHealth. We especially hope that they can provide useful material for teaching in ethics of mHealth.
Suzie
Intimacy and trust
Suzie is a 27-year old administrative employee of a brewing company. She wants to get pregnant someday, but not now. Suzie is in a relationship with Ian, a 24-year old physiotherapist. They are now discussing moving in together, although it is hard to find a suitable apartment.
Ayaan
Invasiveness of mHealth technology
Ayaan is a manager at a large department store. She and her husband, Tim, have two young children. Tim takes care mostly of the household, but it is a busy life for Ayaan, who also wants to have time to practice sports (swimming and kickboxing) and meet with her friends regularly.
Sofia
Informed consent
Sofia is suspicious of ‘free’ software. Assuming that paid-for services will probably respect her privacy better, she has recently subscribed to an app called GreyWay (slogan: „Stay fit all the way, from birth until you’re grey“), which promises to use personal health and lifestyle data to provide both general and customized health advice.
Tobi
Data selection, algorithmic bias and user vulnerability
Tobi is a 37 year old self-trained musician and tech enthusiast. As a child, he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, when tests showed that his body was unable to produce enough insulin to regulate his blood glucose levels. Tobi lives a busy life and does not want his condition to slow him down.