My View - Digital health equity

VIEW - Amio Matenga Ikihele, general manager of community and innovations, Moana Connect

Digital skills and access have been identified as a super social determinant of health.

If people are unable to access digital health, or are unable to use digital tools, they are unable to participate in society.

Finding connection
Digital health equity can be defined as, ‘an equal opportunity for individuals to benefit from the knowledge and practices related to the development and use of digital technologies to improve health’.

However, digital skills and access to digital platforms are often a barrier for Pacific communities.

Te Mana Ola, New Zealand’s Pacific Health Strategy, says there are inequities in accessing technology which can further alienate people from the health system, particularly for tagata sa’ilimalo (disabled Pacific people).

Through my research I have found that one of the primary drivers for getting Pacific people online is connection - connection to family and friends, cultural spaces, and church - and only then to health professionals.

People may not always choose health as an endpoint, but if a technology is easy to use and the elements are anchored in these things - family, friends, cultural spaces, church – you are more likely to get uptake of a digital tool.

And that is ultimately what we are aiming for.

Drivers and barriers
When digital tools are being developed, these need to be for the collective benefit of Pacific communities.

Internationally recognised drivers of digital health equity include; access to broadband and devices, digital training, trusted partners, family support and individual digital literacy and readiness.

I received a Winston Churchill Fellowship to travel to the US in 2023 where I met with different organisations in New York, Sacramento, San Francisco, LA and Washington on a research trip. All said SMS text messages work well for vulnerable communities.

Low tech solutions work. In digital health, we often want to design shiny new apps, but we cannot move away from the simple digital skills that still enable our communities to engage with platforms.

If we get the fundamentals right with these three key things - digital skills and access, low tech solutions work, and who is in your community - we will be able to ensure equity is met.

Pacific data sovereignty
When Pacific data is being collected through digital tools, we also need to think about the types of labels being collected to ensure there is a good understanding of data for our Pacific communities.

The Pacific Data Sovereignty Network says, “there must be a collective benefit and reciprocity, for Pacific peoples and communities, when collecting data”.

“Consequently, the wellbeing and beneficence of Pacific peoples, such as wellbeing, should be the primary priority across data life cycles and the data ecosystem.”

We need everybody in the ecosystem working together to ensure that we are able to understand and resource the quality of digital healthcare that is available for our communities.

If you want to contact eHealthNews.nz regarding this View, please contact the editor Rebecca McBeth.

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