Researchers provide a comprehensive Framework for Digital Health Equity, detailing key digital determinants of health (DDoH), to support the work of digital health tool creators in industry, health systems operations, and academia.
The rapid digitization of healthcare may widen health disparities if solutions are not developed with these determinants in mind. Their framework builds on the leading health disparities framework, incorporating a digital environment domain. The authors examine DDoHs at the individual, interpersonal, community, and societal levels, discuss the importance of a root cause, multi-level approach, and offer a pragmatic case study that applies their framework.
Discussion
The rapid digital transformation of healthcare may contribute to increased inequality. Health interventions often lead to
intervention-generated inequalities as they are typically adopted unevenly with disparity populations lagging behind. Digital health is particularly vulnerable to this as interventions are likely to disproportionately benefit more advantaged people with greater access to money, power, and knowledge. Digital health leaders and developers in industry, academia, and healthcare operations must be aware of the DDoH and the roles they play to ensure that the use of technology does not widen disparities.
The autors expand the NIMHD Research Framework to incorporate a digital environment domain detailing key DDoH. Currently, there is no comprehensive framework for digital health equity that addresses determinants at all levels and provides context with the SDoHs. Without an understanding of the DDoHs in context, digital health solution development and research may result in tools and knowledge that are incomplete as they do not address the cumulative or interactive effects of multiple domains. Notably, the framework includes both risk and resilience factors which is key as we support a strengths-based approach to development. Digital health stakeholders concerned with equity and impact should consider the DDoHs in product development and intervention design and dissemination, incorporating community and societal-level determinants as well as developing multi-level approaches. By expanding the leading health disparities research framework for digital health equity, we hope digital health leaders in the industry, academia, policy, and the community will benefit from decades of progress in the field of health disparities as well as see their work in the larger context of SDoHs so that we might work together towards meaningful progress in using digital means to achieve health equity for all.
Researchers examined refugee mothers’ access to virtual social support during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their objective was to understand the provision of virtual social support for refugee mothers from the perspective of service providers and recently arrived refugee mothers to Canada.
Virtual semi-structured interviews were conducted with three service providers and five refugee mothers in one settlement agency in Ontario, Canada. Data were subjected to thematic analysis.
Six main themes emerged.
3 from service providers:
3 from mothers directly:
The intersection of gender, motherhood, and migration status creates distinct challenges for refugee mothers, but social support can facilitate their navigation of migration and motherhood. Providers acknowledged clients’ diverse circumstances. They developed flexible strategies to identify client needs and help them build skills. Clients found virtual services essential to resettlement, if not ideal. Conclusion: With tailored programming, virtual services can be effective in providing support. Moreover, refugee mothers acquired digital skills to independently navigate virtual resources, despite limited digital literacy. This demonstrates the value of using of virtual services for vulnerable or hard to reach populations.
Drawn from a larger study on the information behavior of immigrants, this paper mainly reports the semi-structured interview findings on the pre-arrival information experiences of Bangladeshi immigrants who used formal information sources with discussion on how that affected their post-arrival settlement into Canada.
Although there is a growing body of work on immigrants’ information behavior, little is known about the pre-arrival information experiences of immigrants who consult formal information sources such as immigration agents.
This study provides insights into the pre-arrival information experiences of Bangladeshi immigrants consulting formal information sources such as immigration firms, individual immigration consultants and more formal government agencies.
The author introduces a new concept of “information crafting” by exploring the negative consequences of selective information sharing by immigration consultants/agents in newcomers’ settlements in Canada, primarily positive information about life in Canada, sometimes with exaggeration and falsification.
The interview participants shared story after the story of the settlement challenges they faced after arriving in Canada and how the expectations they built through the information received from immigration consultants and government agencies did not match after arrival. This study emphasizes the importance of providing comprehensive information about life in Canada to potential newcomers so that they can make informed decisions even before they apply.
As immigration to Canada increases, the complexities associated with serving newcomers (immigrants, refugees, temporary foreign workers, and international students) of diverse ethnogeographical backgrounds also increase. A range of stakeholder groups including researchers, policy makers, immigrant service provider organizations, and newcomer grassroots community organizations aim to help ease the process of settlement and integration for newcomers. A community-based knowledge engagement hub, which has been previously applied in the Indigenous community context, can facilitate the reciprocal flow of knowledge between those involved in newcomer settlement and inform newcomer-centered practice, policy, and research on settlement issues.
The establishment of a community-based knowledge engagement hub can better address newcomer settlement issues and be beneficial for all stakeholders involved. As described in 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 10, 16, and 17, inclusive and representative multi-stakeholder partnerships facilitate the mobilization and sharing of knowledge. In turn, shared knowledge can support the implementation of planned and well-managed systems and policies for newcomers.
The authors recommend that a community-based knowledge engagement hub be established to facilitate reciprocal knowledge engagement across the cross-sectoral stakeholders in newcomer settlement. Examples include researchers, policy makers, and SPOs, all centered around newcomer grassroots community organizations. The establishment of a community-based knowledge engagement hub is recommended to be led by researchers in collaboration with policy makers, SPOs, and the community.
This toolkit is intended for anyone working on knowledge mobilization projects, especially for those who are in the initial planning stages of this work, and those working in the child and youth mental health and addictions sector. It is an updated version of our knowledge mobilization toolkit released in 2006, and features new content (clear language, storytelling, navigating challenges) and the latest evidence on knowledge mobilization.
The authors define knowledge mobilization and the reasons why we might do it. They then explore how to plan, do and evaluate knowledge mobilization activities.
This paper is a compilation of findings from a literature review as well as key informant interviews with AI experts and humanitarians pushing the agenda for digital innovation in humanitarian action. It is presented as a think-brief in order to help start a conversation or help provide a concrete stepping stone for those interested in topics of Generative AI.
The paper is not intended to be interpreted or treated as an academic or peer-reviewed paper. Instead, it is a compilation of introductory research intended for a broad audience.
The paper is aimed at humanitarian practitioners and leaders who would like to gain a general knowledge on Generative AI or would like to gain insight on trending strategies for mainstreaming Generative AI tools within their organization. By providing main topics of concern and recommendations, we lay out the landscape of capabilities and potential pathways for safe and responsible adoption of Generative AI. Organizations can select key takeaways and narrow down investigations on each topic.
Key messages:
Seniors’ adoption of emerging technologies is crucial to their social connectedness, well-being, and digital participation in society. This article presents a Canadian study on how immigrant seniors established and sustained social connections through their engagement with digital technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Researchers sought to
Data were collected through interviews, observations, and digital artifacts from a sample of immigrant seniors (N:16). Through narrative, researchers brought together the personal and sociocultural perspectives from four seniors’ stories for holistic insights into their learning and engagement with technologies. Their stories also emphasize possibilities for dynamic and interconnected digital engagement and the inseparable link between community support and developing seniors’ digital literacy. Social interaction plays a pivotal role in facilitating, fostering, promoting, and enhancing seniors’ digital literacies.
Findings challenge preconceived notions about how seniors navigate digital technologies and offer strategies for supporting community service agencies in designing and implementing senior-friendly digital literacy programs.
Creating senior-friendly digital literacy programs demands a comprehensive approach that honors seniors’ desire for lifelong learning and acknowledges their potential as agentive learners and digital contributors. This approach situates aging as a relational practice that is socially constructed. A nuanced understanding of seniors’ lived experiences coupled with an emphasis on social connectedness, peer-to-peer learning, and intellectual curiosity suggests digital literacy programs are not just about static competency checklists. Instead, they are pedagogical spaces where we can focus on the relational and performative dimensions of digital literacy. This holistic pedagogy also invites us to attend more distinctly to power inequities experienced by seniors, highlighted by deficit self-portrayals in some of the stories in this article.
This research paper explores the implications associated with deploying Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in the domain of migration management for human rights in Canada. The research findings ultimately challenge pre-existing paradigms and contribute to a more balanced discourse, highlighting the intricate link between AI, migration, and human rights.
Drawing insights from Algorithmic Governmentality, Technosolutionism, and Critical Data Studies, the paper examines the extent of their effects on human rights outcomes and governance. This paper utilizes a systematic literature-based review as a research methodology and employs a qualitative, thematic model to conduct a comprehensive review of the research topic.
It argues that the implementation of AI in this context mandates a rigorous investigation into its governance. This is due to the consequences AI produces for individual rights. Despite its numerous potential advantages, a lack of scrutiny and transparency in its deployment poses risks to protecting fundamental rights.
Through the aforementioned theoretical foundation, the paper dissects the partialities and vulnerabilities built into AI-related systems and brings to light the power structures they reinforce. It calls for an equitable approach that champions human rights amidst technological evolution. This is to ensure that AI functions as a catalyst for societal progress, not as an instrument to radically boost state dominance and power.
This report provides essential insights about the intersecting obstacles that people seeking asylum face when accessing healthcare digitally. It explores the impacts of digital exclusion on both wellbeing and access to healthcare for people seeking asylum in England, and sets out solutions for how to address this.
The British Red Cross identified a lack of evidence about how digital exclusion may impact access to and experience of healthcare for people seeking asylum in England. Between March and November 2022, researchers conducted a qualitative research study to explore the issue. Five peer researchers with lived experience of seeking asylum conducted interviews with 30 people currently seeking asylum in England.
The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the digitalisation of healthcare in England. While digital healthcare and platforms have made healthcare more accessible for some, these services are out of reach for digitally excluded people.
People experience digital exclusion when they cannot use and benefit from the internet or digital devices in their everyday life. Digital exclusion can occur for various reasons, such as the affordability of the internet and devices, low literacy, low digital skills and confidence, and inaccessibility of digital services. Digital exclusion is more likely to affect some sections of the population than others – such as people whose first language is not English, older people, those on a low income and people with disabilities.
For example, in 2018, 1 per cent of 25 to 34-year-olds in the UK had never used the internet or had not used it in the last three months, compared with 25 per cent of 65 to 74-year-olds.
People seeking asylum are particularly at risk of digital and healthcare exclusion, as many face multiple and intersecting barriers to digital access, such as language barriers and low income.
These obstacles compound existing barriers to accessing healthcare, and impact the experience of healthcare received. In some cases, unable to access or navigate digital healthcare services, participants avoided seeking help altogether or saw A&E as their only option. This inability to access primary care in a timely way undoubtedly places additional pressure on already stretched emergency care services. Participants also spoke about the impact of digital exclusion on their mental health and wellbeing, often causing isolation and loneliness.
Participants’ suggestions to improve digital and healthcare access
In the interviews, peer researchers asked the participants for suggestions on improving digital and healthcare access for people seeking asylum. Their responses included:
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