scholarly journals The digital health paradox: international policy perspectives to address the increased health inequalities for people living with disabilities (Preprint)

10.2196/33819 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin van Kessel ◽  
Rok Hrzic ◽  
Ella O'Nuallain ◽  
Elizabeth Weir ◽  
Brian Li Han Wong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Inequalities ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
International Policy ◽  
Health Paradox

The digital health paradox: international policy perspectives to address the increased health inequalities for people living with disabilities (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin van Kessel ◽  
Rok Hrzic ◽  
Ella O'Nuallain ◽  
Elizabeth Weir ◽  
Brian Li Han Wong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Inequalities ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Health Innovations ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Readiness To Adopt ◽  
Global Population

UNSTRUCTURED The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the uptake of digital health worldwide and highlighted many benefits of these innovations. However, it also stressed the magnitude of inequalities regarding accessing digital health. This article explores the potential benefits of digital technologies for the global population, with particular reference to people living with disabilities, taking the autism community as a case study. We ultimately explore policies in Sweden, Australia, Canada, Estonia, the United Kingdom, and the United States to learn how policies can lay an inclusive foundation for digital health systems. We conclude that digital health ecosystems should be designed with health equity at the forefront to avoid deepening existing health inequalities. We call for a more sophisticated understanding of digital health literacy to better assess the readiness to adopt digital health innovations. Finally, people living with disabilities should be positioned at the centre of digital health policy and innovations to ensure they are not left behind.

E-prescribing: the rise of socio-tech-med micronetworks of care during the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
pp. 104-118
Author(s):  
Monica Murero
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Inequalities ◽  
Barriers To Care ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Northern Italy ◽  
Careful Planning ◽  
One To One

The present paper critically investigates the rise of e-prescribing socio-tech-med micronetworks of health care in Northern Italy and the role of innovative caregivers. Based on semi-structured one-to-one discursive interviews, this study's results show that e-prescribing innovative practices modify four domains: 1) introduce techno-care fluctuating dynamics, 2) modify spaces and time barriers to care, c) build socio-tech-med micro-networked connections, and d) create innovative "technological" carers. The interdigital carer may support distinctive forms of techno-based senior care in Italy, diffuse e-prescribing culture, and transmediate health objects and services. Careful planning and human-tailored decisionmaking are necessary to normalize e-prescribing socio-tech-med practices and avoid digital health inequalities in pandemic and post-pandemic scenarios.

scholarly journals Co-designing eHealth and Equity Solutions: Application of the Ophelia (Optimizing Health Literacy and Access) Process

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Cheng ◽  
Gerald R. Elsworth ◽  
Richard H. Osborne
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Inequalities ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Health Organizations ◽  
Ehealth Literacy ◽  
Guiding Principles ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Expert Validation ◽  
Improve Health

Background: The unequal access, challenges and outcomes related to using technology have created the digital divide, which leads to health inequalities. The aim of this study was to apply the Ophelia (Optimizing Health Literacy and Access) process, a widely used systematic approach to whole of community co-design, to the digital context to generate solutions to improve health and equity outcomes.Methods: This was a mixed method study. A cross-sectional survey was undertaken at 3 health organizations in Victoria, Australia using the eHealth Literacy Questionnaire (eHLQ) as a needs assessment tool. Cluster analysis was conducted to identify subgroups with varying eHealth literacy needs. These data, combined with semi-structured interviews with clients, were used to generate vignettes representing different eHealth literacy profiles. The vignettes were presented at co-design workshops with clients and health professionals to generate solutions for digital health services improvement. Expert validation and proof-of-concept testing was explored through mapping the process against Ophelia guiding principles.Results: The cluster analyses identified 8 to 9 clusters with different profiles of eHealth literacy needs, with 4 to 6 vignettes developed to represent the eHealth literacy strengths and weaknesses of clients at each of the 3 sites. A total of 32, 43, and 32 solutions across 10 strategies were co-created based on ideas grounded in local expertise and experiences. Apart from digital solutions, non-digital solutions were frequently recommended as a strategy to address eHealth literacy needs. Expert validation identified at least half of the ideas were very important and feasible, while most of the guiding principles of the Ophelia process were successfully applied.Conclusion: By harnessing collective creativity through co-design, the Ophelia process has been shown to assist the development of solutions with the potential to improve health and equity outcomes in the digital context. Implementation of the solutions is needed to provide further evidence of the impact of the process. The suggested inclusion of non-digital solutions revealed through the co-design process reminds health organizations and policymakers that solutions should be flexible enough to suit individual needs. As such, taking a co-design approach to digital health initiatives will assist in preventing the widening of health inequalities.

scholarly journals Learning our lesson: using past policies to improve digital and ethnic inequalities beyond the pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mel Ramasawmy ◽  
Lydia Poole ◽  
Amitava Banerjee
Keyword(s):  
Health Policy ◽  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Health Inequalities ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Current Health ◽  
The Past ◽  
Ethnic Inequalities ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Remote Consultations

AbstractCOVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact on ethnic minorities in the UK, raising questions about whether learning from the past few decades about the interplay between ethnicity and health inequalities has been effectively incorporated in current health policy. As digital health approaches, such as remote consultations and apps, become more widespread during and after the pandemic, it is important to ensure that these do not contribute to ‘widening the gap’. We highlight three areas in which existing knowledge and evidence can be translated into cross-sectoral action to avoid further ethnic and digital health inequalities: data and measurement, improved communication, and embedded equality impact.

scholarly journals COVID-19 and the gender health paradox

2020 ◽  
pp. 140349482097560
Author(s):  
Clare Bambra ◽  
Viviana Albani ◽  
Paula Franklin
Keyword(s):  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Health Inequalities ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
International Research ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
Health Paradox

This article examines gender-based health inequalities arising from the COVID-19 pandemic by drawing on insights from research into the ‘gender health paradox’. Decades of international research shows that, across Europe, men have shorter life expectancies and higher mortality rates than women, and yet, women report higher morbidity. These gender-based health inequalities also appear to be evident within the pandemic and its aftermath. The article starts by providing an overview of the ‘gender health paradox’ and the biological, social, economic and political explanations for it. It then outlines the international estimates of gender-based inequalities in COVID-19 morbidity and mortality rates – where emerging data suggests that women are more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19 but that men have a higher mortality rate. It then explores the longer term consequences for gender-based health inequalities of the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the impacts of government policy responses and the emerging economic crisis, suggesting that this might lead to increased mortality amongst men and increased morbidity amongst women. The essay concludes by reflecting on the pathways shaping gender-based health inequalities in the COVID-19 pandemic and the responses needed to ensure that it does not exacerbate gender-based health inequalities into the future.

scholarly journals Health Impact Assessment of a UK Digital Health Service

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue Heather Wright ◽  
Irfan Ghani ◽  
John Kemm ◽  
Jayne Parry
Keyword(s):  
Health Service ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Health Inequalities ◽  
Health Impact Assessment ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
The West ◽  
Current Form ◽  
West Midlands

A new online digital health service (DHS) was developed for the West Midlands, UK, and provides information on health, health care services and on professional development opportunities. This study is a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) of the DHS to assess potential impacts on health and health inequalities and make recommendations to decision makers to enhance positive health impacts, reduce negative impacts and consider mitigation. There was no evidence from the HIA to indicate that the DHS in its current form would have any potential impact on the health and wellbeing of people in the West Midlands and on health inequalities.

Digitization and health inequality and equity in nursing

Pflege ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Alexander Hochmuth ◽  
Kamil J. Wrona ◽  
Anne-Kathrin Exner ◽  
Christoph Dockweiler
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Health Inequalities ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Data Extraction ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Nursing Theory ◽  
Digital Inequality ◽  
Health Technologies ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Background: The use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in health care is increasing attention. To describe health inequalities and equity with regard to the use of digital health technologies in a care context and to understand interrelationships, it is of particular importance for the field of care research to use models and theories that explain health inequalities and equity in the use of digital technologies. Aims: This article aims to identify models and theories from the field of nursing and health research that explain the phenomenon of health inequalities and the influence of digital health technologies on the emergence of inequalities. Methods: Relevant articles were searched in electronic databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL & SocINDEX) between July and August 2019 in German and English, within the methodological framework of a scoping review. The systematic literature search and data extraction were performed by 2 reviewers. The description of data refers to standard criteria by 8-1Christiansen and Baum (1997). Results: From a total of 25 relevant articles, 2 were identified for inclusion in the current overview. One model is focusing on ICT for health and the other model focuses on eHealth. No nursing theory could be identified in the context of describing the phenomenon of digital inequality. Conclusions: In both models, there is a lack of discussion about the impact of nursing aspects on the use and acceptance of eHealth technologies. One point should also be the development of models and theories that consider the user perspective of vulnerable groups.

What features of DHI design and deployment enable or hinder engagement with DHIs by demographic groups likely to be affected by the digital divide? Protocol for a systematic scoping review (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine L. Jenkins ◽  
Sumayyah Imran ◽  
Aamina Mahmood ◽  
Katherine Bradbury ◽  
Elizabeth Murray ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Digital Divide ◽  
Health Inequalities ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Health Improvement ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
Demographic Groups ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Translation Services

UNSTRUCTURED Digital health interventions (DHIs) refer to interventions designed to support health-related knowledge transfer and deployed via digital technologies, such as mobile applications (apps) (Soobiah et al., 2020). DHIs are a double-edged sword: they have the potential to reduce health inequalities, for example by making treatments available remotely to rural populations underserved by healthcare facilities or by helping to overcome language barriers via in-app translation services. However, if not designed and deployed with care, DHIs also have the potential to increase health inequalities and exacerbate effects of the digital divide. Patient-level and public health measures delivered digitally therefore need to consider ways to mitigate the digital divide through DHI design, deployment and engagement mechanisms sensitive to the needs of digitally-excluded populations. This protocol outlines the procedure for a systematic scoping review focussing on features of DHI design and deployment that facilitate (or not) access to and engagement with DHIs by people from demographic groups likely to be affected by the digital divide. The results will have wider implications for researchers and policy makers using DHIs for health improvement peri-pandemic and post-pandemic and will inform best practices in the design and deployment of DHIs.

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