CATCH-ON Connect: A Program to Increase Technology Access Among Older Adults During COVID-19

During the COVID-19 pandemic, technology became an essential tool to maintain connections to social support, health professionals, and services. However, many older adults do not have access to technology or do not feel comfortable using it. CATCH-ON Connect provides cellular-enabled tablets and individual, personalized technical assistance to older adults. Adults age 65+ in project partner primary care clinics who do not have an internet-ready device or who lack digital literacy are eligible to participate. Older adults learn how to access their electronic health record portal, use pre-installed apps (e.g., Lyft, Zoom), and receive education about COVID-19 and the 4Ms. Of the 40 participants enrolled to date, 46% have never accessed the internet with a tablet or smartphone. Initial qualitative outcomes indicate high satisfaction and increased electronic socialization. Quantitative results of participant technology challenges, loneliness, and utilization of telehealth services will be discussed.

Digital Citizenship: Technology Access and Use for Youth With and Without Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Technology is integral to the lives of youth who, as digital citizens, use technology to participate in social and civic action to improve their communities. Using a digital citizenship framework and National Longitudinal Transition Study of 2012 data, we explored technology access and use between youth with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). We found youth with IDD have less access and less participation across four digital citzienship elements putting them at greater risk for digital social isolation and community disengagment. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, which has thrust employment, school, health, and social lives to online spaces, we situate our findings on digital access, opportunity, and support and call for individual and systems-level investment in digital citizenship to support full participation.

Making Intellectual Property a Common Good to Combat Global Pandemics and the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP): Responding to the Challenges Exerted by Big Pharma and Some High-Income Countries

The COVID-19 outbreak has created a global race for research into a vaccine, diagnostic and therapeutic among research institutes, governments, and big-tech pharmaceutical companies (Big Pharma). In this context, intellectual property rights (IPRs) play a prominent role in incentivizing COVID-19 vaccines. Simultaneously, IPRs, particularly the patent rights of Big Pharma, create restrictions on fair access to affordable COVID-19 vaccines. Besides, economically powerful high-income countries have purchased and reserved a large amount of COVID-19 vaccines while low and middle-income countries (LMICs) have been struggling to obtain sufficient vaccine doses. These factors have contributed to increasing the gap of access to affordable COVID-19 vaccines between high-income countries and LMICs. Having foreseen the likely effect of LMICs being discriminated against in the global COVID-19 vaccine production and distribution, the global community has already made some efforts to revisit the normative aspects of IPRs by making intellectual property a common good to achieve global health during the pandemic. For example, the World Health Organization (WHO) has launched the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), considering the proposal made by Costa Rica. The C-TAP intended to ensure technology transfer, disclosure of research, flexible licensing and open innovations. However, Big Pharma and some high-income countries have criticised and directly interfered in the effective functioning of C-TAP. Therefore, there remains a question as to whether the C-TAP approach would only be idealistic or realistic in the global governance of IPRs and public health. Accordingly, this paper critically analyses the prospects that C-TAP would offer LMICs to overcome IPRs-related barriers and resource constraints in accessing the COVID-19 vaccine and reflect on how to tackle Big Pharma and some high-income countries’ influences on the effective functioning of C-TAP.

Pharmacy Students’ Perceptions and Attitudes towards Online Education during COVID-19 Lockdown in Saudi Arabia

In March 2020, a national lockdown in Saudi Arabia due to the pandemic forced all educational institutions to complete their academic year via online education. This study aims to explore pharmacy students’ perceptions and assess their attitude towards online education during the lockdown. A cross-sectional self-administered survey was designed to collect responses of pharmacy students (from one college of pharmacy in Saudi Arabia) from December 2020 through January 2021. A total of 241 students completed the survey. Students’ responses indicated that they had easy access to the technology, online skills, motivation and overall favorable acceptance for online learning and examinations. There was a significant difference in the mean scores between the students from different years of study (p = 0.013) related to technology access, and the male students were in significantly more favor of online examinations than female students (p = 0.009). The majority of the students indicated that the lockdown had no or negative impact on their learning and training. Students have general acceptance for online education delivery due to more technology access and online skills. More research should explore the factors affecting and the extent of the impact of online education on student learning and training.

Digitally disconnected: A qualitative study of patient perspectives on the digital divide and potential solutions (Preprint)

BACKGROUND As telemedicine utilization increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, divergent usage patterns for video and audio-only telephone visits emerged. Older, low-income, minority, and non-English speaking Medicaid patients especially are at highest risk of experiencing technology access and digital literacy barriers. This raises concern for disparities in healthcare access and widening of the “digital divide”, the separation of those with technological access and knowledge and those who do not. While studies demonstrate correlation between racial and socioeconomic demographics and technological access and ability, individual patients' perspectives of the divide and its impacts remain unclear. OBJECTIVE We aimed to interview patients to understand their perspectives on 1) the definition, causes, and impact of the digital divide, 2) whose responsibility it is to address, and 3) potential solutions to mitigate the digital divide. METHODS Between December 2020-March 2021, we conducted 54 semi-structured telephone interviews with adult patients and parents of pediatric patients who had virtual visits (phone and/or video) sometime between March and September 2020 at the University of Chicago Medical Center primary care clinics. A grounded theory approach was used to analyze interview data. RESULTS Patients were keenly aware of the digital divide and described impacts beyond healthcare, including employment, education, community and social contexts, and personal economic stability. Patients described that individuals, government, libraries, schools, healthcare organizations, and even private businesses all shared the responsibility to address the divide. Proposed solutions to address the divide included conducting community technology needs assessments and improving technology access, literacy training, and resource awareness. Recognizing that some individuals will never cross the divide, patients also emphasized continued support of low-tech communication methods and healthcare delivery to prevent widening of the digital divide. Furthermore, patients viewed technology access and literacy as drivers of the social determinants of health (SDOH), profoundly influencing how SDOHs function to worsen or improve health disparities. CONCLUSIONS Patient perspectives provide valuable insight into the digital divide and can inform solutions to mitigate health and resulting societal inequities. Future work is needed to understand the digital needs of disconnected individuals and communities. As clinical care and delivery continue to integrate telehealth, studies are needed to explore whether having a video or audio-only phone visit results in different patient outcomes and utilization. Advocacy efforts to disseminate public and private resources can also expand device and broadband internet access, improve technology literacy, and increase funding to support both high- and low-tech forms of healthcare delivery for the disconnected.

Role of Technology Access and Technical Self-Efficacy Towards Lecturers’ Readiness in Blended Learning

Landscape of classroom teaching and learnings has changed Integrating information and communication technology (ICT) as a source of blended teaching and learning, either in the classroom or outside the classroom, has become one of the evolutions in classroom learning. To be part of this evolution, UTMSPACE has started to implement blended learning in teaching and learning. Therefore, the study intended to examine the readiness of UTMSPACE lecturers towards the implementation of blended learning and to explore the current practice of blended learning among the lecturers. The findings confirmed the lecturers’ readiness for blended learning implementation. This study also examines how personal factors affected the success of e-learning systems and provided better results. Structural equation models on the data of 101 targeted respondents showed that online communication self-efficacy, attitude, and online media are the multiple mediators between the technology access and technical usage self-efficacy and lead to increased blended learning readiness among the lecturers at UTMSPACE. It appears that despite technological factors, the lecturers with a high belief in their ability and attitude are more prepared to adopt the alternative ways of teaching and learning as they gain more experience. Keywords: Blended learning, UTMSPACE, readiness.

Narratives of Systemic Barriers and Accessibility: Poverty, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and the Call for a Post-Pandemic New Normal

This paper captures the intimate, intensely lived, and storied experiences during the pandemic, on teachers’ narratives of teaching and education. The narratives illuminate deep knowledge and insight into pre-existing school systemic barriers prior to the pandemic, and how those same barriers are magnified during the pandemic in what has become a global watershed moment that calls for equity reform in school systems. A narrative theoretical framework is used, as well as an ethic of care framework that informs the study. Issues of poverty, diversity, equity, and inclusion are illuminated, with further focus on topics of technology access, streaming, resilience, and teacher-student identity and relationship. Recommendations to eradicate systemic barriers in schools are explored, highlighting suggestions for equity reform in areas that include: enhancing professional practice; building a school culture of care, and; developing partnerships and relationships.