Digital Exclusion Risk Index (DERI) tool

Digital Exclusion Risk Index (DERI) Tool

• The Digital Exclusion Risk Index (DERI) tool visualises the risk, or likelihood of digital exclusion for every LSOA in England and Wales. It brings together a broad set of indicators including demography, deprivation and broadband. Created by the Greater Manchester Office of Data Analysis at Greater Manchester Combined Authority
• A new tool in your toolbox: the Digital Exclusion Risk Index Good Things Foundation blog, 22 October 2021: 

Digital opportunities for women’s wellbeing: How femtech and other digital platforms can overcome barriers to health access

Digital opportunities for women’s wellbeing: How femtech and other digital platforms can overcome barriers to health access
Thrive September 2021

• Drawing on information from a literature review, survey and focus groups this white paper highlights the barriers which are stopping women accessing face-to-face health services and information. It spotlights three key themes: 1: Why concern about the quality of online information impacts how women use digital platforms. 2: How diverse authorship is key to providing higher quality, more relevant information. 3: The importance of understanding how women engage with digital resources in order to create platforms that meet female needs. 
• (“Thrive is a value-driven agency specialising in powerful health and behaviour change content, campaigns and programmes.”)

Patient Coalition for AI, Data and Digital Tech in Health

Patient Coalition for AI, Data and Digital Tech in Health
Patients Association 15 September 2021

• A new coalition with members from Royal Colleges, health charities and patient groups has come together to ensure the interests of patients are at the heart of the development of policy in digital health technology. 
• In addition to providing a forum for discussion, this Coalition will act as an independent campaigning coalition, taking forward joint pieces of work and engaging actively to help influence Government and NHS policy on the use of digital technology in healthcare.

Digital exclusion and health inequalities

Digital exclusion and health inequalities
Good Things Foundation 26 August 2021

• An overview of digital exclusion and its relationship to health, social and economic aspects of people’s lives; who is affected; how the pandemic has impacted on this; and what responses we have seen.

Planning and Evaluating Remote Consultation Services: A New Conceptual Framework Incorporating Complexity and Practical Ethics

Planning and Evaluating Remote Consultation Services: A New Conceptual Framework Incorporating Complexity and Practical Ethics
Frontiers in Digital Health, 13 August 2021 https://doi.org/10.3389/fdgth.2021.726095

• Empirical findings have shown that decisions about remote consultation are fraught with contradictions and tensions—for example, between demand management and patient choice—leading to both large- and small-scale ethical dilemmas for managers, support staff, and clinicians. A novel framework, Planning and Evaluating Remote Consultation Services (PERCS) has been developed which focuses attention on the organizational digital maturity and digital inclusion efforts. The authors also present a set of principles for informing its application in practice, including education of professionals and patients.

COVID-19 and the digital divide: Supporting digital inclusion and skills during the pandemic and beyond

COVID-19 and the digital divide: Supporting digital inclusion and skills during the pandemic and beyond
Centre for Ageing Better 6 July 2021

• This report offers examples of good practice and recommendations for organisations that deliver services to users and help digitally excluded people with skills training.

Locked out: Digitally excluded people’s experiences of remote GP appointments

Locked out: Digitally excluded people’s experiences of remote GP appointments
HealthWatch 16 June 2021

• The move to more digitally-led healthcare has worked well for some but excluded others over the pandemic. This report explores how people have been excluded and what needs to happen to get the care they need.

Unlocking the digital front door - keys to inclusive healthcare

Unlocking the digital front door - keys to inclusive healthcare
National Voices  May 2021

• This report explores how the move to remote service models impacted people and how the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector (VCSE) has led innovative ways to deliver healthcare and support people during the COVID 19 pandemic. Also available is a literature review and insight data, personal narratives and recommendations for better practice, better policy, and better innovations.

On digital inequalities

On Digital Inequalities
University of Manchester May 2021

• The pandemic has exposed a widening gap in our society, with 9 million adults in the UK unable use the internet without help and 3.8 million people having never used the internet. The articles in this publication put forward recommendations to policymakers on how we might be able to address and reduce the inequalities we are seeing in the digital space.

Beyond Digital: Planning for a Hybrid World

Beyond Digital: Planning for a Hybrid World
COVID-19 Committee 21 April 2021

• An examination of the impact that the pandemic-driven digital acceleration might have in the long-term on the aspects of life known to have the biggest impact on our wellbeing: physical and mental health, social connection, education, quality of work.

Digital Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Digital Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Patients Association 12 February 2021

• Research and case studies of good practice in digital health during the pandemic to offer policy recommendations to help ensure the UK capitalises on the potential of digital health to the benefit of patients, the NHS and the UK, after the crisis subsides.

Digital technology and Health Inequalities: a scoping review

Digital technology and Health Inequalities: a scoping review
Public Health Wales and King’s Fund 3 December 2020

• This report examines how a lack of access, skills and motivation for using digital technologies could contribute to inequalities in health and other outcomes, and explores approaches to reduce widening differences between groups.

Learning from Lockdown: 12 Steps to Eliminate Digital Exclusion

Learning from Lockdown: 12 Steps to Eliminate Digital Exclusion
Carnegie Trust 18 November 2020

• Since the outbreak of Covid-19 the scale of digital exclusion in the UK has been exposed and exacerbated beyond previous understanding. While new initiatives have been rapidly and successfully delivered, substantially accelerating progress, there is still much more to be done to ensure no one in the UK is left digitally excluded. This report sets out a series of 12 recommendations calling for ambitious action from policy makers, practitioners, academics and industry to tackle this issue.

Digital Inclusion in Health and Care: lessons learned from the NHS Widening Digital Participation Programme

Digital Inclusion in Health and Care: lessons learned from the NHS Widening Digital Participation Programme
Good Things Foundation 16 November 2020

• The NHS Widening Digital Participation programme completed in March 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic digital participation has become essential for our lives, for our health and wellbeing. This new report brings together the lessons learned, practical tips and recommendations from the Widening Digital Participation programme.

COVID-19 and the digital divide in the UK

COVID-19 and the digital divide in the UK
Lancet Digital Health v2(8) E395-E396, August 01, 2020

• This article discuss how the use of digital health technologies in response to Covid-19 unintentionally exacerbates existing health inequalities as access to such solutions remains unevenly distributed.

Reviewing the evidence on digital inclusion

Reviewing the evidence on digital inclusion
The Strategy Unit April 2020

• Data from the Lloyds Bank (2019) Consumer Digital Index in the UK found that 4.1 million UK adults (8%) have not used the internet within the past three months. The ‘offline profile’ includes many of the protected characteristics eg race, age, sociodemographics and disability.
• Data from the Lloyds Bank (2019) Consumer Digital Index in the UK found that 4.1 million UK adults (8%) have not used the internet within the past three months. The ‘offline profile’ shows:
• 80% are aged 50+
• There is no significant difference between genders
• White people are 50% more likely to be offline compared to Black, Asian or minority ethnic 
• (BAME) people
• Three-quarters (76%) are: retired pensioners (36%), unskilled manual workers (16%), 
• unemployed/long-term sick (15%), and skilled manual workers (9%)
• 71% have no more than a secondary school education
• Nearly one in two (47%) are from low-income households (medium 16%, high 9%, prefer 
• not to say 28%)
• One-third (32%) have a disability

NHS Widening Digital Participation

NHS Widening Digital Participation
Good Things Foundation and NHS Digital

• The aim of the programme is to design, test and iterate 20 different ways to embed digital inclusion into healthcare over 12 months that, if successful, can be scaled across other areas of the country.

Digital inclusion for health and social care

Digital inclusion for health and social care
NHS Digital updated 4 July 2019

• A guide to help healthcare providers, commissioners, and designers ensure that services delivered digitally are as inclusive as possible, meeting the needs of all sections of the population.

Exploring the UK’s digital divide

Exploring the UK’s digital divide
ONS 4 March 2019

• The scale of digital exclusion in the UK; those who aren’t currently using the internet, how digital skills vary for different groups of the population (including gender, age, disabled people, ethnic groups) and some of the barriers to digital inclusion.
• Regional level data only.

Digital Inclusion and Homeless People Research

Digital Inclusion and Homeless People Research: An investigation into access to digital inclusion for
healthcare for the homeless population.
Seaview November 2018

• In 2017, Seaview were commissioned by NHS Digital to undertake participative research with rough sleepers on their appetite for Digital Health. As the digitisation of health and care is inevitably occurring it is vital to not create further barriers for those already struggling to access essential services. The resulting research with more than 60 individuals confirmed the fact that people interviewed do want to be included in the change but also highlighted some of the barriers.