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Although mobile phone data are increasingly used in public health management, a new study led by researchers at Penn State reveals that phone data can misrepresent vulnerable populations — who are often underrepresented in other data sources — and that failing to account for biases in phone data could magnify health inequities.
Mobile phone data are increasingly used in public health management and disease outbreak response, as demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic when location data were used as a proxy for human movement and contacts and informed exposure notification apps.
Although mobile phone data are increasingly used in public health management, a new study led by researchers at Penn State reveals that phone data can misrepresent vulnerable populations — who are often underrepresented in other data sources — and that failing to account for biases in phone data could magnify health inequities.