scholarly journals COVID-19, digital health technology and the politics of the unprecedented

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 205395172110194
Author(s):  
Dillon Wamsley ◽  
Benjamin Chin-Yee
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Science And Technology Studies ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Health Technologies ◽  
Current State ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Public Health Institutions ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
State Responses

The COVID-19 global pandemic has stretched the capacities of public health institutions and health systems around the world, opening the door to a range of technologically-driven solutions. In this article, we seek to historicize the expanding role of digital health technologies and examine the political-economic context from which they have emerged. Drawing on critical insights from science and technology studies, we maintain that the rise of digital health technologies has been catalyzed by broad shifts in global health governance that have expanded the role of market forces in public health and a unique set of political and economic crises that have accelerated the adoption of digital technologies—often under the guise of appeals to technological innovation to address “unprecedented” crises. These interrelated historical trends, we contend, are critical for understanding current state responses to the pandemic and possibilities for more equitable and democratic applications of technology in public health.

Digital health technology enhances resilient behaviour: evidence from the ward

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iacopo Rubbio ◽  
Manfredi Bruccoleri ◽  
Astrid Pietrosi ◽  
Barbara Ragonese
Keyword(s):  
Patient Safety ◽  
Dynamic Capabilities ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Healthcare Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Health Technologies ◽  
Management Domain ◽  
Operational Failure

PurposeIn the healthcare management domain, there is a lack of knowledge concerning the role of resilience practices in improving patient safety. The purpose of this paper is to understand the capabilities that enable healthcare resilience and how digital technologies can support these capabilities.Design/methodology/approachWithin- and cross-case research methodology was used to study resilience mechanisms and capabilities in healthcare and to understand how digital health technologies impact healthcare resilience. The authors analyze data from two Italian hospitals through the lens of the operational failure literature and anchor the findings to the theory of dynamic capabilities.FindingsFive different dynamic capabilities emerged as crucial for managing operational failure. Furthermore, in relation to these capabilities, medical, organizational and patient-related knowledge surfaced as major enablers. Finally, the findings allowed the authors to better explain the role of knowledge in healthcare resilience and how digital technologies boost this role.Practical implicationsWhen trying to promote a culture of patient safety, the research suggests healthcare managers should focus on promoting and enhancing resilience capabilities. Furthermore, when evaluating the role of digital technologies, healthcare managers should consider their importance in enabling these dynamic capabilities.Originality/valueAlthough operations management (OM) research points to resilience as a crucial behavior in the supply chain, this is the first research that investigates the concept of resilience in healthcare systems from an OM perspective, with only a few authors having studied similar concepts, such as “workaround” practices.

Last Rights? Funerals, Poverty and Social Exclusion

1998 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 507-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARK DRAKEFORD
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Security ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Poor People ◽  
The Public ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Welfare State

This article considers the current state of help with funeral expenses in Britain. It argues that assistance has been progressively and deliberately eroded to the point where the famous ‘from the cradle to the grave’ protection of the welfare state has been removed from increasing numbers of poor people. The article sets these developments within the context of the contemporary British funeral industry, with emphasis upon its treatment of less-well-off consumers. The changing nature of social security provision for funeral expenses is traced in detail, including the actions of the incoming 1997 Labour government. This article investigates the public health role of local authorities in the case of burials, concluding that such services are insufficiently robust to meet the new weight placed upon them. The article ends with a consideration of the impact which these different changes produce in the lives of individuals upon whom they have an effect.

scholarly journals Addressing Healthcare Gaps in Sweden during the COVID-19 Outbreak: On Community Outreach and Empowering Ethnic Minority Groups in a Digitalized Context

Healthcare ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 445
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Valeriani ◽  
Iris Sarajlic Vukovic ◽  
Tomas Lindegaard ◽  
Roberto Felizia ◽  
Richard Mollica ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Community Outreach ◽  
Patient Centered ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Health Technologies ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Individual

Since its early stages, the COVID-19 pandemic has interacted with existing divides by ethnicity and socioeconomic statuses, exacerbating further inequalities in high-income countries. The Swedish public health strategy, built on mutual trust between the government and the society and giving the responsibility to the individual, has been criticized for not applying a dedicated and more diverse strategy for most disadvantaged migrants in dealing with the pandemic. In order to mitigate the unequal burden on the marginalized members of society, increasing efforts have been addressed to digital health technologies. Despite the strong potential of providing collective public health benefits, especially in a highly digitalized context as Sweden, need for a stronger cooperation between the public health authorities and migrant community leaders, representatives of migrant associations, religious leaders and other influencers of disadvantaged groups has emerged. Suggestions are presented on more culturally congruent, patient-centered health care services aimed to empower people to participate in a more effective public health response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Digitized Health Promotion

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Lupton
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Health Policy ◽  
Public Health Policy ◽  
Social Epidemiology ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Personal Responsibility ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Health Technologies

This chapter explores the use of digital health technologies in health promotion endeavors. This “digitized health promotion” is the latest stage in the trajectory of health promotion ideology and practice over the past four decades in wealthy Anglophone nations. Lupton argues that over this period the individualistic approach to good health commonly espoused in medicine and public health was challenged by advocates arguing for a greater focus on social justice and social epidemiology. The individualistic approach to health promotion never disappeared, however, and has gathered momentum in the current economic, political, and technological climate. While many health promotion workers still champion the ideals of “health for all,” public health policy in the context of digitized health promotion has begun to return to emphasizing personal responsibility for health.

Understanding Decision Making in the Adoption of Digital Health Technology: The Role of Behavioural Economics’ Prospect Theory (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Waqas Ullah Khan ◽  
Aviv Shachak ◽  
Emily Seto
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Prospect Theory ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Health Technology ◽  
Behavioural Economics ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Health Technologies ◽  
Research Article ◽  
The Individual

UNSTRUCTURED The decision to accept or reject new digital health technologies remains an ongoing discussion. Over the past few decades, interest in understanding the choice to adopt technology has led to the development of numerous theories and models. In 1979, however, psychologists Kahneman and Tversky published their seminal research article that has pioneered the field of behavioural economics. They named their model the “prospect theory” and used it to explain decision making behaviours under conditions of risk and uncertainty as well as to provide an understanding of why individuals may make irrational or inconsistent decisions. Although the prospect theory has been used to explain decision making in economics, law, political science, and clinically at the individual level, its application to understanding choice in the adoption of digital health technology has not been explored.

Public-private partnerships and collaboration in digital health: a scoping review and case study analysis of applications during the COVID-19 pandemic (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nishali Kirit Patel ◽  
Elinor Wahal ◽  
Adriana Mancilla Galindo ◽  
Alejandra Rodarte ◽  
Tim Jesudason ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Literature Search ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Public Private Partnerships ◽  
Search Results ◽  
Stage Process

BACKGROUND The emergence of digital technologies over the past decade has presented a novel opportunity to address healthcare challenges associated with COVID-19 and accelerate progress towards achieving the health-related goals under the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Public-private partnerships (PPPs) have played a vital role in scaling up digital health solutions and disseminating curated scientific information in the face of the infodemic. However, several challenges remain around the effectiveness of PPP-related digital solutions and antagonistic viewpoints of engaging the private sector. We sought to evaluate the role of public-private partnerships in the digital public health space during COVID-19 and identify key lessons learned and challenges in the uptake of digital health solutions globally. OBJECTIVE Electronic and grey literature search results from PubMed, Google, and Google Scholar were screened by one reviewer through a two-stage process. We included all relevant systematic reviews, interventional, observational, and descriptive studies published in English published from January 2020 to June 2021. Two case study analyses on digital health chatbots, informed by expert opinion, were also performed to assess for the role of public-private partnerships in advancing digital public health solutions. METHODS Electronic and grey literature search results from PubMed, Google, and Google Scholar were screened by one reviewer through a two-stage process. We included all relevant systematic reviews, interventional, observational, and descriptive studies published in English published from January 2020 to June 2021. Two case study analyses on digital health chatbots, informed by expert opinion, were also performed to assess for the role of public-private partnerships in advancing digital public health solutions. RESULTS Forty-five articles met the inclusion criteria for qualitative analysis, the majority of which were secondary research. Results of the publications can be broadly categorized into three groups: (1) models and definitions of public-private partnerships used in the healthcare space; (2) purposes of and motivations of public-private partnerships in global public health; and (3) and facilitators, barriers, and challenges to date. CONCLUSIONS The literature review as well as the case studies analysis reveal that PPPs can represent a valid option for tackling global healthcare issues with a digital health approach. Further research is needed to complement the initial findings of the present paper, as well as to assess a wider pool of case studies and the different features that they might present.

scholarly journals The Role of Public Health Institutions in Global Health System Strengthening Efforts: The US CDC's Perspective

PLoS Medicine ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. e1001199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Bloland ◽  
Patricia Simone ◽  
Brent Burkholder ◽  
Laurence Slutsker ◽  
Kevin M. De Cock
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Health System ◽  
Health System Strengthening ◽  
The Us ◽  
Public Health Institutions ◽  
Health Institutions

scholarly journals The potential use of digital health technologies in the African context: a systematic review of evidence from Ethiopia

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsegahun Manyazewal ◽  
Yimtubezinash Woldeamanuel ◽  
Henry M. Blumberg ◽  
Abebaw Fekadu ◽  
Vincent C. Marconi
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Global Strategy ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Health Practices ◽  
Health Technologies ◽  
Link Type ◽  
Potential Use

AbstractThe World Health Organization (WHO) recently put forth a Global Strategy on Digital Health 2020–2025 with several countries having already achieved key milestones. We aimed to understand whether and how digital health technologies (DHTs) are absorbed in Africa, tracking Ethiopia as a key node. We conducted a systematic review, searching PubMed-MEDLINE, Embase, ScienceDirect, African Journals Online, Cochrane Central Registry of Controlled Trials, ClinicalTrials.gov, and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform databases from inception to 02 February 2021 for studies of any design that investigated the potential of DHTs in clinical or public health practices in Ethiopia. This review was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42021240645) and it was designed to inform our ongoing DHT-enabled randomized controlled trial (RCT) (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT04216420). We found 27,493 potentially relevant citations, among which 52 studies met the inclusion criteria, comprising a total of 596,128 patients, healthy individuals, and healthcare professionals. The studies involved six DHTs: mHealth (29 studies, 574,649 participants); electronic health records (13 studies, 4534 participants); telemedicine (4 studies, 465 participants); cloud-based application (2 studies, 2382 participants); information communication technology (3 studies, 681 participants), and artificial intelligence (1 study, 13,417 participants). The studies targeted six health conditions: maternal and child health (15), infectious diseases (14), non-communicable diseases (3), dermatitis (1), surgery (4), and general health conditions (15). The outcomes of interest were feasibility, usability, willingness or readiness, effectiveness, quality improvement, and knowledge or attitude toward DHTs. Five studies involved RCTs. The analysis showed that although DHTs are a relatively recent phenomenon in Ethiopia, their potential harnessing clinical and public health practices are highly visible. Their adoption and implementation in full capacity require more training, access to better devices such as smartphones, and infrastructure. DHTs hold much promise tackling major clinical and public health backlogs and strengthening the healthcare ecosystem in Ethiopia. More RCTs are needed on emerging DHTs including artificial intelligence, big data, cloud, cybersecurity, telemedicine, and wearable devices to provide robust evidence of their potential use in such settings and to materialize the WHO’s Global Strategy on Digital Health.

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