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Is digital health care more equitable? The framing of health inequalities within England's digital health policy 2010–2017

Rich, E; Miah, A; Lewis, S

Is digital health care more equitable? The framing of health inequalities within England's digital health policy 2010–2017 Thumbnail


Authors

E Rich

Profile image of Andy Miah

Prof Andy Miah A.MIAH@salford.ac.uk
Chair in Science Comms & Future Media

S Lewis



Abstract

Informed by a discourse analysis, this article examines the framing of equity within the UK's digital health policies between 2010 and 2017, focusing on England's development of NHS Digital and its situation within the UK Government's wider digital strategy. Analysis of significant policy documents reveals three interrelated discourses that are engaged within England's digital health policies: equity as a neoliberal imaginary of digital efficiency and empowerment; digital health as a pathway towards democratising health care through data‐sharing, co‐creation and collaboration; and finally, digital health as a route towards extending citizen autonomy through their access to data systems. It advances knowledge of the relationship between digital health policy and health inequalities. Revealing that while inclusion remains a priority area for policymakers, equity is being constituted in ways that reflect broader discourses of neoliberalism, empowerment and the turn to the market for technological solutionism, which may potentially exacerbate health inequalities.

Citation

Rich, E., Miah, A., & Lewis, S. (2019). Is digital health care more equitable? The framing of health inequalities within England's digital health policy 2010–2017. Sociology of Health and Illness, 41(S1), 31-49. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.12980

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Sep 1, 2019
Online Publication Date Oct 10, 2019
Publication Date Oct 10, 2019
Deposit Date Nov 6, 2019
Publicly Available Date Oct 10, 2020
Journal Sociology Of Health & Illness
Print ISSN 0141-9889
Electronic ISSN 1467-9566
Publisher Wiley
Volume 41
Issue S1
Pages 31-49
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.12980
Publisher URL https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.12980
Related Public URLs https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14679566
Additional Information Projects : The Digital Health Generation

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