Reflections on ‘Decolonizing’ Big Data in Global Health

Abstract

While much has been written about the role of ‘big data’ in health services research and epidemiology, there has been less exploration of the imperative of data sovereignty on informing the ethics of health services research and global health more broadly, especially in the context of decoloniality in an era of ‘big data.’ In this viewpoint, epidemiologist and health services researcher Qato offers a brief exploration of some questions that may drive this effort: is ‘decolonizing’ health data necessary? If so, what are the stakes, and who sets the terms? What would a decolonized data infrastructure necessary for health systems equity globally look like?

Keywords

• big data
• health services research
• global health
• epidemiology