A new, comprehensive handbook shows how digital technologies influence our health—and what new questions this raises. Edited by Prof. Dr. Hajo Zeeb and colleagues from Bremen, the work “Digital Public Health—Interdisciplinary Perspectives” brings together perspectives from health, information, and social sciences. It has now been published by Springer in the “Series on Epidemiology and Public Health.”
“I am very happy that this book is now available. It brings together the diverse insights and discussions that we have developed together at the Leibniz ScienceCampus Digital Public Health over the past few years,” says Prof. Dr. Hajo Zeeb, spokesperson for the Leibniz ScienceCampus Digital Public Health Bremen and head of department at the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology – BIPS.
Whether apps, smartwatches, or social media – digital technologies have become an integral part of everyday life. They are also having an impact in the field of public health: with their help, information can be disseminated in a more targeted manner, gaps in care can be closed, and the early detection of diseases can be supported. At the same time, they challenge existing concepts: How do we protect personal data? Which groups are reached—and which are left out? And what ethical, legal, or social consequences does digitization entail?
The handbook contains over 30 contributions from experts in medicine, epidemiology, psychology, philosophy, law, computer science, and other disciplines. The articles highlight both the potential and the risks of digital applications – from questions of digital health literacy and the ethical dilemmas of new technologies to concrete implementation in healthcare practice. One thing is clear: digitization is not an end in itself. It must be geared toward the actual needs of the population. This requires interdisciplinary cooperation, well-thought-out technological development, and consistent scientific monitoring.
“The special value of this book lies in its combination of theory, practice, and technology. It shows how important it is that digitization does not happen over people's heads, but on the basis of evidence, participation, and reflection,” says Zeeb.
The book is intended not only as a reference work for researchers, but also as a practical guide for professionals in administration, politics, and healthcare. It offers insights into current developments – such as the regulation of digital health applications, the handling of health data, and the design of digital prevention strategies. The central finding: only when different disciplines work together can digitization contribute to strengthening the health of the population in the long term. In order to make these findings accessible to a broad public, the book is being published as an open-access publication and is available online free of charge here. In order to reach an international audience, the book was written in English.
Funding information
The work was carried out as part of the Leibniz ScienceCampus Digital Public Health Bremen (www.digital-public-health.de). The campus is jointly funded by the Leibniz Association, the state of Bremen, and the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology – BIPS. The publication was also partially supported by the Leibniz Association's publication fund.
Original publication
Zeeb H, Maaß L, Schultz T, Haug U, Pigeot I, Schüz B (Eds.). Digital Public Health – Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Cham: Springer; 2025. (Springer Series on Epidemiology and Public Health). doi:10.1007/978-3-031-90154-6
