From personal to global health – bridging communities through citizen science

Personal and global health stand out as particularly meaningful research domains to the public, making them ideal for citizen engagement. Thanks to technologies such as DNA sequencing and wearable trackers, low-cost sensors, and smart devices, the opportunities for individual and community-based inquiry have dramatically increased, with a significant portion of research becoming accessible to non-professionals.

As the field of citizen science evolves, the expectations of different stakeholders for public participation in health-related research generate new pressures on researchers and policymakers to engage in more collaborative forms of public participation. For personal health, this includes evolving the long-standing tradition of collaboration to more recent and engaged modes of knowledge production in citizen science. To tackle global health issues, governance bodies need the best available evidence for decision-making, including research evidence, health data, and the unique expertise and first-person knowledge of citizens.