Crowdsourcing applications for public health.
Crowdsourcing is an online, distributed, problem-solving, and production model that uses the collective intelligence of networked communities for specific purposes. Although its use has benefited many sectors of society, it has yet to be fully realized as a method for improving public health. This paper defines the core components of crowdsourcing and proposes a framework for understanding the potential utility of crowdsourcing in the domain of public health. Four discrete crowdsourcing approaches are described (knowledge discovery and management; distributed human intelligence tasking; broadcast search; and peer-vetted creative production types) and a number of potential applications for crowdsourcing for public health science and practice are enumerated.
Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California. Electronic address: brabham@usc.edu.
Daren C
DC
Brabham
Gillings School of Global Public Health and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Kurt M
KM
Ribisl
Steven A. Schroeder National Institute for Tobacco Research and Policy Studies, Washington DC; The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.
Thomas R
TR
Kirchner
Center for Digital Health and Wellness, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida; Department of Health Education and Behavior, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
Jay M
JM
Bernhardt
D063045:Crowdsourcing / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends