Drawing as a Facilitator of Critical Data Discourse: Reflecting on Problems with Digital Health Data Through Expressive Visualizations of the Unseen Body Landscape

In a 1.5-hour workshop, we used drawing and self-reflection prompts to facilitate a value-driven discussion of personal and institutional data practices. Activities included mark-making in time with one’s heartbeat, creating an inventory of one’s personal data, and creating a qualitative personal health visualization. This article details the workshop structure and exercises and includes a summary of the discussion, which constructively encompassed both the empowering and the uncomfortable aspects of digital health data collection in a constructive manner. The workshop’s design used the format of hands-on, expressive drawing activities to enable participants to achieve depth and breadth
in a relatively short discussion about personal health, data autonomy, institutional trust, and consent.
Critical discourse about data, especially health data, is a valuable experience for every person whose health data has been or is being collected; and approaches that take personal data as a starting point can support the practice of digital/data sovereignty more broadly.