Telehealth as a Means of Enabling Health Equity.
Type of content
Journal Article
UC permalink
Publisher's DOI/URI
Thesis discipline
Degree name
Publisher
Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Language
eng
Date
2022
Authors
Kuziemsky C
Hunter I
Udayasankaran JG
Ranatunga P
Kulatunga G
John S
John O
F FlÓrez-Arango J
Ito M
Ho K
Abstract
The goal of this paper is to provide a consensus review on telehealth delivery prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic to develop a set of recommendations for designing telehealth services and tools that contribute to system resilience and equitable health.
Methods
The IMIA-Telehealth Working Group (WG) members conducted a two-step approach to understand the role of telehealth in enabling global health equity. We first conducted a consensus review on the topic followed by a modified Delphi process to respond to four questions related to the role telehealth can play in developing a resilient and equitable health system.Results
Fifteen WG members from eight countries participated in the Delphi process to share their views. The experts agreed that while telehealth services before and during COVID-19 pandemic have enhanced the delivery of and access to healthcare services, they were also concerned that global telehealth delivery has not been equal for everyone. The group came to a consensus that health system concepts including technology, financing, access to medical supplies and equipment, and governance capacity can all impact the delivery of telehealth services.Conclusion
Telehealth played a significant role in delivering healthcare services during the pandemic. However, telehealth delivery has also led to unintended consequences (UICs) including inequity issues and an increase in the digital divide. Telehealth practitioners, professionals and system designers therefore need to purposely design for equity as part of achieving broader health system goals.Description
Citation
Kuziemsky C, Hunter I, Udayasankaran JG, Ranatunga P, Kulatunga G, John S, John O, F FlÓrez-Arango J, Ito M, Ho K, Gogia SB, Araujo K, Rajput VK, Meijer WJ, Basu A (2022). Telehealth as a Means of Enabling Health Equity.. Yearbook of medical informatics.
Keywords
telehealth, equity, resilience, health systems, unintended consequences
Ngā upoko tukutuku/Māori subject headings
ANZSRC fields of research
Fields of Research::42 - Health sciences::4203 - Health services and systems::420302 - Digital health
Fields of Research::42 - Health sciences::4206 - Public health::420602 - Health equity
Fields of Research::42 - Health sciences::4206 - Public health::420602 - Health equity
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