Google's new app makes it easy for people to take part in medical research

With the new Google Health Studies app, Android users can take part in health studies by answering survey questions and contributing relevant data, thereby helping researchers make advancements in medicine and healthcare.

Google has launched a new app to make it easier for leading health research institutions to connect with potential study participants while providing the public with greater opportunities to securely contribute to medical research.

With the new Google Health Studies app, Android users can take part in health studies by answering survey questions and contributing relevant data, thereby helping researchers make advancements in medicine and healthcare.

On the privacy front, Google assures that it will keep participant's data private, safe and secure. For each study, participants can clearly see what data is being contributed, and when and why it's shared.

"In building the app we focused on three principles: keeping information safe, treating it responsibly, and putting participants in control. When participants use the Google Health Studies app, their data is protected with Google's advanced security. All information is encrypted and research data is stored securely," Google said.

"Study data will only be used for the purposes that are explicitly consented to in the research study and will not be sold, shared with advertisers, or be used to show participants ads," the search giant further added.

The initial study available is a respiratory health study conducted by Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School and will help scientists and public health communities better understand respiratory illnesses including influenza and COVID-19. Participants will provide data to help researchers understand how demographics, health history, behavior, and mobility patterns contribute to the spread of respiratory illnesses. Upcoming studies will focus on mental health and diabetes.

The Google Health Studies app is available for download in the Google Play Store.