A focus group study on citizens’ perspectives on the ethics of health technology innovations: “Where will they take us?”

Health technology innovations (HTIs) represent a distinct group of technologies that stem from and further shape a particular socio-historical context. As citizens represent moral subjects, exploring their perspectives on the ethics of HTIs is pivotal in recognizing HTIs as a societally embedded phenomenon. A qualitative focus group study with citizens from Flanders, Belgium was performed. A total of 10 focus group discussions with 66 participants were conducted. Constructivist grounded theory and the Qualitative Analysis Guide of Leuven (QUAGOL) guided the study design and process of data analysis respectively. One fundamental reflection marked participants’ perspectives on the ethics of HTIs: Where will these HTIs take us? The societal potential related to HTIs was perceived in parallel with their risk of exacerbating societal vulnerabilities. This ambivalence characterized the discussions and took shape in four distinct ethical dimensions: (1) care as inherently human, (2) innovations to support individual autonomy and quality of life, (3) equitable access to technological care, and (4) health data to ensure continuity and quality of care. Citizens’ ethical perspectives on HTIs go beyond particular individual technologies and demonstrate HTIs as a generic phenomenon interwoven with and within society. Participants’ experiential accounts introduce a ‘normativity in place’, as their moral intuitions shed light on the ethical design, development and use of HTIs as a societal construct. The increasing possibilities related to HTIs are then evaluated through the lens of humanness, autonomy, equity and integrity. Not applicable.