Digital Health Tech misses a critical link in understanding the needs of end users
As developers and providers of healthcare technology, our aim is to create the most captivating, evidence-based, and cost-efficient tools available. Often, we find ourselves puzzled as to why these tools aren't being embraced. The key to addressing this lies in truly understanding the end-users by embracing the principles of Equity.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health equity as:
“… the absence of unfair, avoidable or remediable differences among groups of people... Health equity is achieved when everyone can attain their full potential for health and well-being.”
Within digital health, equity means that products are developed in relation to unique user circumstances, and from a human perspective and not mainly focused on the tech possibilities. Data reveal existing inequities in digital health, potentially explaining the current barriers to widespread adoption. Taking action now can help reduce disparities and further enable the digitalization of healthcare.
The Missing Link: The Determinants of Health
To understand someone's health, you first need to understand their life.
Examining Health Determinants, the elements in our environments that significantly influence our general health and quality of life, provides insight into a person's interaction with healthcare services, including digital. These determinants play a crucial role as they identify areas of inequity that will limit a person's ability to use health tech. By considering the impact of various determinants, we can strive towards creating more equitable products for all individuals.
The Social Determinants of Health
“The social determinants of health (SDH) are the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. They are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life.
Research shows that the social determinants can be more important than health care or lifestyle choices in influencing health. For example, numerous studies suggest that SDH account for between 30-55% of health outcomes.”
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The Digital Determinants of Health
The digital determinants of health, like the social determinants of health of which they are a subset, follow a socioeconomic gradient: Those at the lowest end of the spectrum have the greatest barriers to digital resources.
These barriers fall largely into two categories
-A technology barrier that includes poor internet and broadband access and lack of access to a suitable device like a smartphone. Most often, these technology barriers are related to affordability gaps, but in rural environments, there may be inadequate infrastructure and poor broadband penetration
-A digital literacy gap—a deficit of the digital skills necessary to use these devices and apps.
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Workshop: Developing for Equity
Online or in-person workshops for Developers and Digital Health Providers
Utilizing the principles of the Determinants of Health, this workshop delves into the significance of equity in the development of digital health solutions. Drawing from extensive research on the adoption and obstacles to healthcare digitalization, it offers fresh insights into the life circumstances of end-users and strategies for creating relevant products for their benefit.
The unique approach of the workshop is a methodology for assessing the tech's product features against the determinants of health and redesigning the features to enhance usability and adoption rates. The ultimate objective is to craft digital health solutions that are equitable and cater to the diverse needs of a wide array of potential users.
What you will learn
This workshop is tailored for start-ups, established tech companies, incubators, healthcare providers, and any individual interested in offering digital health technology. During this session, you will gain:
- A comprehensive understanding of the significance of developing for equity in digital health, along with examples of equity frameworks detailing barriers to digital health based on public health and equity principles
- An overview of established design principles to identify user barriers in digital adoption based on the framework's components
- A practical method to populate an Equity Mapping Table to easily assess your product's features along the Determinants of Health parameters and pinpoint areas for enhancement to promote equity
You will leave this session with an awareness of the challenges your users face in their daily lives, how this will impact the use of your tech, and how to redesign your tech to account for differences. Through this, we hopefully will help people in all life situations attain good outcomes from digital health.
About the presenter
Beth Wolff, MSPH
Experienced Developer
Former Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Product Management at a digital therapeutics start-up, European Launch Lead for the Sandoz / Novartis partnership with Pear Therapeutics, and Mentor / Advisor for numerous health tech start-ups. I know the challenges of developing and implementing digital health solutions.
Equity Specialist
For my MSc in Public Health final project in 2023, I researched deeply into inequities within digital health. The output was the methodology presented in this workshop, which utilizes equity frameworks identified in the research. The project's manuscript is presently in the process of being reviewed for publication.
Testimonials
Beth Wolff's Developing for Equity workshop provided an in-depth practical framework for entrepreneurs creating solutions focused on addressing health inequities and disparities. Through the workshop, Beth offered an overview of health equity, strategic advice, and real-world examples that participants could use as tools for integrating equity into the development of their solution. The workshop was engaging and participants left empowered to create more impactful and inclusive solutions.
— Partnership Manager, MATTER Health, Chicago
“The workshop “Developing for Equity” is highly beneficial because it equips participants with practical methods to design digital health solutions that prioritize health equity. By focusing on user needs and barriers, it ensures that the products are more relevant and accessible. Both developers and health providers will gain a fresh perspective on how to create greater equity in healthcare.“
— Project Manager, Danish Life Science Cluster, Denmark
"I absolutely recommend Beth's workshops and presentations on health equity. Beth is a highly knowledgeable and just as engaging presenter who excels at tailoring her content to the audience. Her approach to equitable digital health is both comprehensive and hands-on, making 'Developing for Equity' a workshop that is highly relevant for all health technology and healthcare professionals to attend."
— Head of Communications & Events, Health Tech Hub, Denmark
