Crowdsourcing in health and health research: a practical guide

The purpose of this guide is to provide practical advice on designing, implementing, and evaluating crowdsourcing activities for health. In some settings, a group of diverse individuals can solve problems that individuals alone are unable to solve. Crowdsourcing is the process of having a large group, including experts and non-experts, solve a problem and then share the solution with the public. Challenge contests are one tool for crowdsourcing. These contests issue open calls to solicit new ideas, images, or strategies from the public. Many contests have focused on improving health, but there is little guidance in this area.