The Political Economy of Digital Health Equity: Structural Analysis

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Policy
• Digital Health

Background:

• Digital technologies have transformed healthcare delivery, enabling continuous care when in-person services are not feasible.
• However, research indicates that digital health can worsen health inequities due to cost, digital literacy, and structural discrimination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine structural barriers to advancing digital health equity from a political economy perspective.
• To identify how neoliberal capitalism sustains digital health inequities at the policy level.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of incentive structures and investments by powerful actors in digital health.
• Examination of structural challenges within Western capitalist contexts.

Main Results:

• Identified 6 structural challenges: corporate revenue focus, venture capital influence, unequal access to internet/devices, underinvestment in digital literacy, reimbursement uncertainty, and justified mistrust.
• Neoliberal capitalism characteristics exacerbate digital health inequities.

Conclusions:

• Policy-level interventions are needed to address the identified structural barriers.
• Proposes future directions for promoting meaningful change and achieving digital health equity.