Health research led by scientists, with help from Google
In partnership with doctors, nurses, and health researchers, Google Health is providing secure technology that can help improve our understanding of health. Our partnerships will always be guided by healthcare experts focused on questions that are important to improving well-being.
Improving the health of your community
Just as individuals have specific healthcare needs, so do individual communities. By participating in Google Health Studies research, you can help leading institutions and researchers develop a better understanding of your community’s specific health issues and needs. Your study participation can impact the health of your region — and even the future of healthcare for all.
Digital wellbeing study
Respiratory health study
Digital wellbeing study
Contribute to an understanding of digital wellbeing
The second study available is a digital wellbeing study conducted by the Center for Digital Mental Health at the University of Oregon. If you participate in this study, you’ll provide data to help researchers understand how patterns of smartphone use are associated with mental and physical wellbeing.
Dr. Nicholas Allen, Ann Swindells Professor of Clinical Psychology and Director of the Center for Digital Mental Health at the University of Oregon.
“Digital technologies are transforming every aspect of modern life, but we need to know more about how they interact with human wellbeing. This innovative study can shed new light on this question.”
Respiratory health study
Help researchers better understand respiratory diseases
The first study available is a respiratory health study conducted by Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. If you participate in this study, you’ll provide data to help researchers understand how demographics, health history, behavior, and mobility patterns contribute to the spread of respiratory illnesses.
Dr. John Brownstein, professor at Harvard Medical School and Chief Innovation Officer of Boston Children’s Hospital.
“Google Health Studies provides people with a secure and easy way to take part in medical research, while letting researchers discover novel epidemiological insights into respiratory diseases.”
Benefit the public, in private
Protecting your information in the respiratory health study.
Your study data stays on your device
After joining a health study, you’ll begin completing weekly surveys. At all times, your individual survey responses, location history and other personally identifiable data stays on your device.
Your device computes statistics based on your study data
During the study, your device receives different queries, computes and summarizes the results based on your individual study data, and encrypts these results for subsequent aggregation with federated analytics.
Participant data gets aggregated
Encrypted summaries from many devices are combined together, using the federated analytics technology. Google and study partners do not receive any individual study data about you.
Research that values your privacy
Combined insights are sent securely to the researchers conducting the study. You can safely contribute to health research knowing your personally identifiable study data will never be available to Google or third parties.
Protecting your health information
Personal health information is extremely sensitive, which is why Google Health Studies uses privacy-preserving methods to keep your data private and protected. If you choose to participate in research with Google Health Studies, Google does not sell your study data and does not use it to show you ads. You must explicitly consent to the purposes for which it will be used. You can easily unenroll from studies at any time. And if you choose to delete the app, all study data will be deleted from your phone and no new information will be collected.
A step toward representative health research
Google Health Studies makes it faster and easier for leading research institutions to connect with study participants by taking care of the technological infrastructure. If you're interested in adding your study to the platform, get notified when the app is available for more studies.
Less than 10% of the U.S. population participates in clinical research
How does racial participation differ by geographic locations?
Whether in the United States or in the rest of the world, clinical trial participants are mostly White. The majority of Asian trial participants were at non-US sites. The representation of Black or African American participants at US sites is similar to the US general population, which is 13% Black or African American (2011 - 2015 Census)
Participate in a Google Health study today
Take one minute a week to participate in health research led and developed by leading research institutions.