Big Data Analytics and the Struggle for Equity in Health Care: The Promise and Perils

In a new study published in Health Equity, Dr. Said Ibrahim, senior associate dean for diversity and inclusion and chief of the Division of Healthcare Delivery Science and Innovation, joins colleagues in addressing big data in health care. While this technology holds the potential to innovatively change health care as we know it, researchers must work to mitigate possible sources of bias and inequity. Big data can only target inequities and reduce disparities if scientists explicitly address concerns of fairness, equity and transparency while developing these tools. Further, designs should include algorithmic decision-making approaches that explicitly account and correct for these issues.