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Abstract:
Information and communication technologies
(ICT) have become an integral part of
people’s lives in most parts of the world,
influencing politics, social interactions,
economic systems and health for billions of
people. The potential of ICT for health
systems and programs has led to a tremendous
growth in digital health interventions aimed
at improving access to care and changing
behaviors through the dissemination of
information. However, the evidence for the
effectiveness of these approaches is mixed
and there is growing recognition that digital
health faces a number of important
challenges, including poor infrastructure,
affordability and socio-cultural norms that
limit the access of some groups to digital
technologies. This is especially true for
women, who are systematically disadvantaged
in terms of access to digital resources, a
phenomenon commonly referred to as the
‘gender digital divide’. The gender digital
divide poses challenges for the expansion and
potential effectiveness of digital health
efforts, both because this limits the
potential reach of interventions and because
the specific health needs of women and the
roles they play in the health of others make
them particularly important to a range of
health outcomes. However, access to digital
resources may have an effect on health
outcomes even in the absence of specific
digital health interventions. These resources
facilitate the flow of information between
individuals and groups, including about
health care matters. However, while there has
been considerable research on the effect of
digital health interventions, much less is
known about how simply being able to access
and use digital resources such as mobile
phones or the internet may be related to
health outcomes.
This study examines this question, focusing
on the relationship between three types of
access to or use of digital resources
(ownership of a mobile phone, use of a mobile
phone for financial transactions and
frequent use of the internet) and a range of
health outcomes, using data collected from
women and men in five countries. The findings
from the analysis suggest that the strength
of the relationship between digital
resource access and use varies depending on
the health outcome examined and between men
and women. In particular, outcomes focused on
knowledge or where lack of knowledge is an
important factor are most likely to be
strongly associated to digital access or use,
while this association is weaker for
behavioral outcomes. This is especially true
for outcomes that might be considered more
private, such as use of contraception or
seeking help for domestic violence.
Overall, these findings provide strong
support for the argument that access and use
of digital resources are strongly associated
with health, though this varies by context
and specific health outcome. This is
interesting, because this appears to be a
more general effect and not the result of a
specific, focused intervention designed to
influence health. In other words, just being
able to access and use these digital
resources is associated with some better
health outcomes, even after accounting for
other factors that might influence that
outcome. This reinforces the pressing need to
narrow the gender digital gap while also
working to increase the availability and use
of digital technologies for all. Women’s
access to the health system is often
dependent on the ability and willingness of
others, barriers that digital technology can
help to overcome. As a result, addressing
this goal should be a focus of policymakers
and programmers worldwide.
The Relationship between Digital Access and Use and Health Outcomes: Evidence from Demographic and Health Surveys (PDF, 2876K)