ABSTRACT

Any critical analysis of digital health needs to acknowledge the social determinants of technology use. Different social groups often have variable access to and use digital health technologies in different ways. This chapter reviews these aspects of digital health, acknowledging that factors such as geographical location and socioeconomic status influence digital technology use in general and that the social determinants of health beliefs and behaviours and health status are also contributing factors to the ways in which social groups take up digital health technologies. Bodily capacities can be major contributors to digital social inequalities. Social group membership and relative socioeconomic advantage play influential roles in patterns of health and illness. Health beliefs, understandings of the human body and associated behaviours vary significantly between cultures and geographical regions. Little detailed research is available that focuses on cultural and geographical factors that influence digital patient self-care practices, particularly in countries outside the Global North.