Addressing Ethnic Health Inequities by Improving the Inclusiveness of Digital Health Research for South Asians

Authors

  • Syed Mustafa Ali 4Division of Informatics, Imaging and Data Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, UK https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9393-9049
  • Norina Gasteiger 6Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, UK
  • Yumna Masood Centre for Evidence Based Medicine, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
  • Angela Davies Division of Informatics, Imaging and Data Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, UK
  • Caroline Sanders Division of Population Health, Health Services Research & Primary Care, University of Manchester, UK
  • Emma Stanmore Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, UK
  • Sabine N va der Veer National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration – Greater Manchester (ARC-GM), UK

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31273/eirj.v11i3.1566

Keywords:

inclusive research, ethnic health inequities, digital health research, digital health apps, South Asians, inequalities

Abstract

South Asians are one of the largest ethnic minority groups in the United Kingdom. They face the multi-faceted burden of higher prevalence of long-term health conditions, worse access to health services, and poorer health outcomes. With the increase in digitally enabled health services, it is important to ensure that digital health apps are helping to address existing ethnic health inequities instead of creating new or exacerbating existing ones. Therefore, we need to engage with South Asians (SAs) early on and widen their participation in digital health research. However, there are several barriers to doing this effectively. Based on their experience of engaging with South Asians for developing and evaluating four health apps, the authors recommend technology developers and health researchers to understand the cultural context of common health behaviours of South Asians, and then consider the accessibility features of digital health apps and inclusivity of research procedures. This will contribute to making digital health research more inclusive for South Asians, and ultimately to reducing ethnic health inequities.

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Manchester Digital Pain Manikin from a smartphone-based app which enables users to self-report the location and intensity of their pain.

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Published

2024-08-08

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 3 (2024): Special Issue: Research Culture

Section

Critical Reflections

License

Copyright (c) 2024 Syed Mustafa Ali, Norina Gasteiger, Yumna Masood, Angela Davies, Caroline Sanders, Emma Stanmore, Sabine N va der Veer

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