Creating Digital Health Technology for Gender Equity: a Capabilities Approach

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Health Equity
• Gender Studies

Background:

• Digital health technologies are increasingly prevalent in healthcare delivery.
• Existing digital health tools may inadvertently perpetuate or exacerbate gender-based health inequities.
• There is a need for design approaches that actively address and mitigate these disparities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine how digital health technology contributes to gender inequity in health.
• To introduce a capability-sensitive design approach for digital health technology.
• To demonstrate how this approach can foster health equity and social justice.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of the role of digital health technology in health inequity.
• Presentation of a capability-sensitive design framework.
• Focus on human diversity and conversion factors in design.

Main Results:

• Digital health technologies can perpetuate gender inequity if not designed carefully.
• A capability-sensitive approach offers a framework to counteract these inequities.
• This approach emphasizes creating digital health tools that serve diverse populations equally.

Conclusions:

• Digital health technology design must actively address gender inequity to promote health equity.
• The capability-sensitive design approach is a viable strategy for creating inclusive and equitable digital health solutions.
• Implementing this approach can lead to greater social justice in health outcomes.