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Background <p>The increasing use of geographic data about individuals in health and social research raises ethical challenges that extend beyond existing legal frameworks. While regulations such as data protection laws define boundaries, they rarely provide researchers with sufficient practical guidance for addressing geoprivacy risks.</p> Methods <p>We developed a structured, reflexive ethical framework tailored for research involving human-centered geographic data. The framework was designed using a lifecycle approach and informed by both a review of existing literature and the expertise of the multidisciplinary author team. It organizes ethical considerations into five research phases: data collection, storage, sharing, analysis, and results dissemination. To enhance usability, we translated these considerations into 60 guiding questions, each assigned an importance level (high, moderate, or low). An ethical review applicability matrix was also introduced to help determine the level of ethical scrutiny required, based on study characteristics such as data type, granularity, linkage potential, and participant vulnerability.</p> Results <p>The framework offers a practical and scalable tool for embedding ethical reflection into research processes. It supports proportionate ethical review by aligning the sensitivity of specific research practices with the corresponding importance of guiding questions. To demonstrate its adaptability, we provide two case studies in the supplementary materials that apply the framework to different research scenarios with varying levels of geoprivacy sensitivity.</p> Conclusions <p>By encouraging early and context-aware engagement with ethical risks, this framework safeguards participant dignity, fosters transparency, and advances ethically responsible research involving geographic data. It equips both researchers and ethics committees with a systematic approach for addressing geoprivacy challenges across diverse health and social science contexts.</p>

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Ethical guidelines for geoprivacy: a framework for researchers and ethics committees

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月2日

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  • Milad Malekzadeh,
  • Yan Kestens,
  • Justine I. Blanford,
  • Camille Perchoux,
  • Mir Abolfazl Mostafavi,
  • Grant McKenzie,
  • Eun-Kyeong Kim

摘要

Background

The increasing use of geographic data about individuals in health and social research raises ethical challenges that extend beyond existing legal frameworks. While regulations such as data protection laws define boundaries, they rarely provide researchers with sufficient practical guidance for addressing geoprivacy risks.

Methods

We developed a structured, reflexive ethical framework tailored for research involving human-centered geographic data. The framework was designed using a lifecycle approach and informed by both a review of existing literature and the expertise of the multidisciplinary author team. It organizes ethical considerations into five research phases: data collection, storage, sharing, analysis, and results dissemination. To enhance usability, we translated these considerations into 60 guiding questions, each assigned an importance level (high, moderate, or low). An ethical review applicability matrix was also introduced to help determine the level of ethical scrutiny required, based on study characteristics such as data type, granularity, linkage potential, and participant vulnerability.

Results

The framework offers a practical and scalable tool for embedding ethical reflection into research processes. It supports proportionate ethical review by aligning the sensitivity of specific research practices with the corresponding importance of guiding questions. To demonstrate its adaptability, we provide two case studies in the supplementary materials that apply the framework to different research scenarios with varying levels of geoprivacy sensitivity.

Conclusions

By encouraging early and context-aware engagement with ethical risks, this framework safeguards participant dignity, fosters transparency, and advances ethically responsible research involving geographic data. It equips both researchers and ethics committees with a systematic approach for addressing geoprivacy challenges across diverse health and social science contexts.