WHO/Europe will host a webinar on 18 May to present the findings of a recent scoping review on equity across the regulation, implementation and evaluation of digital health and to raise awareness of where equity gaps persist. This is the 16th webinar in the Decoding Data and Digital Health series, which addresses digital health topics of importance to countries in the WHO European Region.
Digital health still not accessible to all
People with greater health needs and language barriers still struggle to use digital health services and technologies, mainly due to limited access, low digital literacy and services being poorly adapted to diverse needs. This is according to a scoping review conducted by WHO/Europe and Public Health Wales, which assessed over 150 publications to identify good practices and gaps in digital health equity.
While equity is increasingly referenced in digital health strategies, it is often articulated at a high level, without operational standards to guide its inclusion or mechanisms enabling governments to provide oversight. In addition, major regulations tend to focus on privacy and safety but rarely involve vulnerable or marginalized groups in decisions about how digital tools and data are designed and governed. The review also drew attention to inequities in digital infrastructure between regions, which risk creating uneven access to innovation.
Digital health evaluation frameworks also remain fragmented, rarely focusing on whether new technologies meet the needs of underserved populations. For AI-driven health technologies in particular, equity, bias and fairness checks are not yet standard practice.
Achieving digital health systems that deliver equitable benefits for all populations remains a central priority for WHO under the Regional Digital Health Action Plan for the WHO European Region 2023–2030 and the Global Strategy on Digital Health 2020–2025.
The webinar
The 1-hour event will invite international experts and people with lived experience to discuss key challenges and opportunities in embedding equity in digital health regulation, implementation and evaluation. The panel will also discuss the concept of equity-by-design and explore how it can be operationalized across the technical and social components of digital health systems. The audience will be able to participate in a question-and-answer session and learn about best practices, challenges and policy recommendations.
The event will be hosted in English and Russian. It is open to the public, including digital health developers, health and care workers, policy-makers, researchers and representatives of advocacy groups. Please use the registration link if you are interested in taking part.
The Decoding Data and Digital Health webinar series is supported by the European Commission (Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety) through the action “Supporting Member States in the WHO European Region in strengthening health information systems and boosting health data governance”.