Digital Health Innovation and Applications

This assignment delves into the realm of digital health innovation, examining its impact on consumers, clinicians, connectivity, and communities. It analyzes selected papers from the 24th Australian National Health Informatics Conference (HIC 2016), focusing on various aspects of digital health, including human modeling applications in health and safety, building capacity for health informatics, e-health and telemedicine concepts, and predictors of eHealth usage. The assignment also considers critical and cross-disciplinary perspectives on digital health, highlighting its role in transforming healthcare delivery.

Researching Social media Publics 1
DIGITAL HEALTH
:
Course:
Tutor:
Institution:
City:
Date:

Research Social Media Publics 2
Digital Health
Introduction
It involves revolutions in digital and genomic sectors dealing with health, healthcare, living and
the society at large. It helps in keeping track, managing and boosting our health and that of the
society (Kontos, et.al 2014). digital health involves some modes and mobile applications which
include telecare and telehealth which involve use of technology to offer medical services, mobile
applications help in improving self-care and the use of technology to do consultations have given
patients easy access to clinical records and other services needed. Telecare is a form of
technology used to increase, maintain and boost functional abilities and independence of people
with physical or communication complications; this can include stair lifts, bath seats. It includes
use of electronic sensors and aids and this makes home environment safe for people living alone
(Information management Association 2016).
Telehealth on the other hand is a means whereby technology and other people’s health services
can be accessed by the concerned people or how the people can be provided for at a distance. It
can be automated or staffed and it helps in relaying information concerning patients from their
residential places to clinician in the hospital and this helps clinical team monitor a patient well
and do emergency attendance when need be. Mobile application and online self-care is also used
by patients to manage their own health and wellbeing; this is only applicable for lower levels of
health need. Telemedicine is also a form of technology which involves use of sensors and
electronic communication from one practitioner to the other to help in doing some tests on
patients and do clinical management; this can be done through video conferencing between two
medical practitioners in different health centers and can be done with or without a patient. It can

Research Social Media Publics 3
also be done by a clinician and a patient while doing their consultations. All these allow
consultation that enables decisions to be made with or without a patient. These innovations have
helped in improving the quality of health, increasing the accessibility channels and reducing cost
of travel and can be described better as;
Communication methods, for example, use of computers and smart phones has done a great
impact in our society. Its portability and accessibility makes it useful in health sector as it helps
in receiving and providing services on daily basis.
The digitized health strategies have helped consumers in remote areas to get medication easily
without having to travel for long distances. Confidential documents can be send through a
network to patients in remote locations.
Digital innovations have also helped in unifying health care for the patients; this is because their
records will be traced in all platforms easily and all information shared among the medical
practitioners.
High quality of medical care because it is based on use of protocols which have been proven to
be the best, this is achieved by using technology and information to do tests, shorten time of
producing results and hence helps in decision making.
Methods of doing digital research
In order to achieve the digital health process, there are methods involved in carrying out the
research (Bowling 2014) and they include; data collection and sampling which involved looking
into needs of the people and their proficiencies. This helps to know how, where to roll out the
electronic health procedures.

Research Social Media Publics 4
Another method is the measurements, which is achieved by taking a survey on how far the
people in the area of study can be accessed with internet, this will allow to know how the literacy
level. In finding out also how many times or how often do the medical practitioners, the
researcher will therefore know the level of need of health improvement (DHM & Duffy 2017).
Measurements is also achieved by looking search strategies to find out which health information
can be found on network, also looking at the outcomes to determine how to manage health needs
and answer the questions resulting from information got on the internet.
After all the research is carried out, data analysis is then done to determine the components of
electronic health and also the factors involved.
From all the research done, the following was found out; high and low literacy groups didn’t
differ in gender, when measured with education, the socio-economic status of the high literacy
group is relatively high.
Health status is also measured between the literacy groups and there is no difference. High
electronic health group has more access to use of computers and internet than those in low group.
Basing on the use of internet information, the high electronic health literacy group is the highest
user, but there is no difference in both low and high groups in the use of written materials or live
information.
More internet searches are done by the high literacy groups and the use of all these searches and
strategies used differed in both groups. People in high literacy groups gained better knowledge of
their health, symptoms and even treatment; the information improved their living standards in
that they are able to manage their lives and live a healthy lifestyle.

Research Social Media Publics 5
Findings. The degree of electronic health skills improved the digital skills in the health sector
and therefore the low literacy group will be affected because of being limited with internet use.
The people in high literacy group are young and more educated and they have more access to the
use of internet and other computer applications and by so doing they get more information which
is useful to their lives.
Electronic health groups differed in education and age therefore bringing out a great difference
on the knowledge of computers and internet.
Health status is viewed in different ways, self –rated health and the chronic unwellness. The self-
rated way is well conversant with the digital health but the chronic illness respondents have low
skills digitally, therefore there is need for improvement in the low literacy group to enable them
get more knowledge on the use of computers and internet hence them in searching for any
medical report concerning their health, locating and evaluating information (Lustria, et.al 2011).
The consuming of information has showed inequality among the literacy groups in that the high
literacy groups has more benefits than the low literacy groups because they can be able to look
for information on the internet and evaluate them, hence great benefits.
These findings however have limitations such as the design of the research which is only based
on education about electronic literacy and does depict its effects. The other limitation is that the
degree of literacy was not measured but done through perception and use of computer and
internet.
The actual findings are based on personal report not actual recording and therefore more research
need to be done to achieve actual use of internet and skills on how to use computers.

Research Social Media Publics 6
Conclusion. From the research, we find that there is a great difference between high and low
literacy groups I terms of their backgrounds, use of information and the outcome of the
information. There is need therefore to educate the low literacy and needy groups so that the gap
which has been created by the digital era will be filled.
Digital health is growing at a higher rate and it offers unique solutions to all the medical needs
and should therefore be embraced.

Research Social Media Publics 7
References
Australian National Health Informatics Conference, Georgiou, A Schaper, LK & Whetton, S
2016, Digital health innovation for consumers, clinicians, connectivity and community:
selected papers from the 24th Australian National Health Informatics Conference (HIC
2016). http://ebooks.iospress.nl/isbn/978-1-61499-666-8.
Bowling, A 2014. Research methods in health: investigating health and health services.
McGraw-Hill Education (UK).
DHM (CONFERENCE), & Duffy, VG 2017, Digital human modeling applications in health,
safety, ergonomics, and risk management: health and safety: 8th International Conference,
DHM 2017, Held as Part of HCI International 2017, Vancouver, BC, Canada, July 9-14,
2017, Proceedings. Part II Part II. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58466-9.
ITCH (CONFERENCE), & Lau, F 2017, Building capacity for health informatics in the
future
Information Resources Management Association, 2016, E-health and telemedicine: concepts,
methodologies, tools, and applications. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1071112.
Kontos, E Blake, KD Chou, WYS and Prestin, A 2014, Predictors of eHealth usage: insights
on the digital divide from the Health Information National Trends Survey.
Lustria, MLA Smith, SA. and Hinnant, CC 2011, Exploring digital divides: an examination
of eHealth technology use in health information seeking, communication and personal health
information management in the USA. Health informatics journal, 17(3), pp.224-243.
Lupton, D 2017, Journal of medical Internet research, 16(7). Digital health: critical and
cross-disciplinary perspectives. Routledge.

Research Social Media Publics 8
National Health Informatics Conference, Grain, H & Schaper, LK 2013, Health informatics:
digital health service delivery, the future is now! selected papers from the 21st Australian
National Health Informatics Conference (HIC 2013). http://site.ebrary.com/id/1078548
International Conference on Smart Homes and Health Telematics, Chang, CK Chiari, L.,
Cao, Y Jin, H Mokhtari, M & Aloulou, H 2016, Inclusive smart cities and digital health:
14th International Conference on Smart Homes and Health Telematics, ICOST 2016,
Wuhan, China, May 25-27, 2016. Proceedings. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39601-
9.