Amy Sheon

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift to virtual health care, with patients expected to interact through portals, secure messaging, and video visits, and with providers monitoring conditions using connected devices that collect and transmit patients’ biometric data. These technologies offer health care access for underserved communities but require internet access, devices, and digital skills.

Digital inclusion is considered a super social determinant of health and rests on four pillars: available and affordable broadband service, quality devices, digital skills and training, and technical support for using accessible applications. Evidence suggests two pathways through which digital inclusion and health equity are connected. The direct pathway is through increasing access to health care services.