Digital Health Dossier (v. 17, n. 3) Jul./Sep. 2023

2023-01-03

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development emphasized information and communications technologies (ICTs) and interconnectivity as tools “to accelerate human progress, to bridge the digital divide and to develop knowledge societies”. The use of ICTs in the health sector and resulting socioeconomic processes are part of the digital health area. Digital health also embodies previous terms such as “eHealth” and “Health 4.0,” but is still considered a complex polysemic concept that is under construction.

In 2005, at the World Health Assembly, the World Health Organization (WHO) urged member countries to develop strategic plans for the development and implementation of eHealth strategies. In 2021, the WHO published the Global strategy on digital health 2020-2025, highlighting its importance in expanding access to healthcare and aiding people in an ethical, safe, reliable, equitable and sustainable way. In this sense, both the WHO document and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) manual for the use of artificial intelligence in health, emphasize the importance of guiding principles, in particular: transparency, accessibility, scalability, replicability, interoperability, privacy, security and confidentiality, user-centricity and non-discrimination.

Despite its potential, digital health poses significant challenges and risks. The “Digital Health Paradox” is an example. The potential to expand access to healthcare runs into the digital divide. Individuals who could be the greatest beneficiaries are also the least capacitated to access the resources (due to digital exclusion, for example). Furthermore, they are more vulnerable to infodemics and misinformation as well as possible use of their data.

The protection of personal data was recently recognized as a fundamental right in the Brazilian Federal Constitution. Given the rapid digitalization of health services, protection presents an important challenge. The General Data Protection Law classifies health data as sensitive and requiring extra care as it can result in prejudice or discrimination, increasing citizens’ vulnerability.

With the Covid-19 pandemic and the establishment of policies and actions geared towards digital health, there was a significant increase in the development and implementation of digital health strategies in Brazil. Therefore, it is increasingly important to discuss the many aspects of this vast field. This Reciis dossier aims to encourage reflection and discussion of different topics, addressing both conceptual and abstract aspects as well as practical challenges associated with infrastructure, the use of health data and the governance of digital health.

Original articles on the following topics will be evaluated:

  • Definition/Concept of digital health;
  • Human rights, digital rights, ethics, privacy, personal data protection;
  • Social determinants of health, cognitive justice, digital literacy;
  • Data science and Artificial Intelligence in health
  • Mobile health, Telehealth, infrastructure, connectivity and networks;
  • Digital public health: health surveillance, information systems, planning and management;
  • Data communication, infodemic, misinformation;
  • Digital health economics: conflicts and links between public and private sectors.

Guest editors: Raquel De Boni (Icict/Fiocruz), Matheus Z. Falcão (Cepedisa/USP) e Rodrigo Murtinho (Icict/Fiocruz)

Submission deadline: by April 25, 2023.

Estimated publication date: v. 17, no. 3, July/September 2023.

When submitting the work, please use the Digital Health Dossier category.