David, You have really summed up a lot of the questions and discussion that has been taking place on this topic. Thanks! siobhan
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of David Keyes Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2008 5:18 PM To: [email protected]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [DDN] The Digital Divide and Human Health This is an interesting discussion, though it may be an easier one to have as a set of narrower questions on a web discussion. I agree that the use of data, both qualitative and quantitative, would be ultimately vital to determining impact and perhaps not enough as been done. Just as important is defining the scope of questions. I see a number of arenas for this. "Human health" is also broad. I leave that to health experts, but perhaps this encompasses individual physical and mental health, and then public health. I also see some distinction between getting health info, getting info about where to get health assistance, participatory health support activities, and use of digital media to support creating health marketing materials, and use of telecenters and digital media as a health prevention (and fitness and public safety) activity. Here are some of the areas of research I'd see on this topic from my experience in community technology. 1) Does learning about health information online improve health? 2) Does participating in a health or disease-related support group improve physical and/or mental health? 3) Does retrieving health info likely lead to its use and to a subsequent impact? How is this different or complementary to information provided by another source (friend, care provider, brochure)? 4) How many community technology/ telecentres are connecting residents with health and fitness information? (e.g. I know of a group of seniors that use the computer lab to retrieve walking maps for their exercise.) 5) If someone's knowledge of using a computer and the Internet increases, does it increase their sense of self-sufficiency and control, and thereby extend their life and quality of life? (There's an interesting potential correlation to some research done in England finding that if seniors have a greater sense of their choices and control, it results in extending their lives.) 6) Does a social network, with an e-component (email, text, web), enhance a consumer's access to health care provider and health information (that is accurate)? 7) Does the production of content (e.g. writing about nutrition, your health, mapping neighborhood air quality) lead to increased health awareness and health? 8) What is the public safety impact of youth media programs? This is all consumer sided vs provider sided (health professionals getting access to exchanging data and best practices) and doesn't include potential impact from health monitoring (remote testing/transmission on diabetes, blood pressure, etc). And of course all this takes money for research. I'd definitely like to see more and how it gets indexed in the health and Internet/dig divide/ social health journals. - David ******************************************* David Keyes Director of Community Technology Programs City of Seattle Department of Information Technology PO Box 94709 Seattle, WA 98124-4709 USA (206) 386-9759 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fax (206) 684-0911 http://seattle.gov/tech/ Street address: 700 Fifth Ave. Suite 2700 >>> "Judith Green" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 08/10/08 7:04 AM >>> Greetings, The question of health care and the digital divide issues that are being raised about "knowing" and "data" are central to discussions that are happening in medical education and diagnosis communities. A recent book <http://www.amazon.com/Interprofessional-Family-Discourses-Knowledge-Pro cesses/dp/1572734027/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218309980&sr=1-3> Interprofessional and Family Discourses: Voices, Knowledge and Practice (Language and Social Processes) <http://www.amazon.com/Interprofessional-Family-Discourses-Knowledge-Pro cesses/dp/1572734027/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218309980&sr=1-3>by Marleen Iannucci McClelland and Roberta G. Sands, Hampton Press. raises questions about how different disciplines within healthcare diagnose patients and how voices are missing. This volume raises questions about dialogues in a face2face and digital world that are central to understanding areas of the digital divide that are often not visible. They also raise questions about how parents are engaged in the dialogues and thus how patients are able to access or enter information. This volume also proposes a biosocial model that might be of interest to those involved in discussion about health care and the digital divide. This volume also address questions about what counts as knowing, research and health care and how these are constructed through different lenses used by different actors. I see the questions that were raised, therefore, as interdependent with the broader concern of this community. Judith _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [email protected] http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [email protected] http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [email protected] http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
