Avoiding the road to nowhere: insights on scaling up and sustaining digital health

Digital health solutions offer tremendous potential to enhance the reach and quality of health services and population-level outcomes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). While the number of programs reaching scale increases yearly, the long-term sustainability for most remains uncertain. In...

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Main Authors: LeFevre, Amnesty, Chamberlain, Sara, Singh, Neha S., Scott, Kerry, Menon, Purnima, Barron, Peter, Ved, Rajani, George, Asha
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: John Wiley & Sons 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142618
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author LeFevre, Amnesty
Chamberlain, Sara
Singh, Neha S.
Scott, Kerry
Menon, Purnima
Barron, Peter
Ved, Rajani
George, Asha
author_browse Barron, Peter
Chamberlain, Sara
George, Asha
LeFevre, Amnesty
Menon, Purnima
Scott, Kerry
Singh, Neha S.
Ved, Rajani
author_facet LeFevre, Amnesty
Chamberlain, Sara
Singh, Neha S.
Scott, Kerry
Menon, Purnima
Barron, Peter
Ved, Rajani
George, Asha
author_sort LeFevre, Amnesty
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Digital health solutions offer tremendous potential to enhance the reach and quality of health services and population-level outcomes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). While the number of programs reaching scale increases yearly, the long-term sustainability for most remains uncertain. In this article, as researchers and implementors, we draw on experiences of designing, implementing and evaluating digital health solutions at scale in Africa and Asia, and provide examples from India and South Africa to illustrate ten considerations to support scale and sustainability of digital health solutions in LMICs. Given the investments being made in digital health solutions and the urgent concurrent needs to strengthen health systems to ensure their responsiveness to marginalized populations in LMICs, we cannot afford to go down roads that ‘lead to nowhere’. These ten considerations focus on drivers of equity and innovation, the foundations for a digital health ecosystem, and the elements for systems integration. We urge technology enthusiasts to consider these issues before and during the roll-out of large-scale digital health initiatives to navigate the complexities of achieving scale and enabling sustainability.
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spelling CGSpace1426182024-10-25T08:06:11Z Avoiding the road to nowhere: insights on scaling up and sustaining digital health LeFevre, Amnesty Chamberlain, Sara Singh, Neha S. Scott, Kerry Menon, Purnima Barron, Peter Ved, Rajani George, Asha policies health technology sustainability health services digital technology Digital health solutions offer tremendous potential to enhance the reach and quality of health services and population-level outcomes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). While the number of programs reaching scale increases yearly, the long-term sustainability for most remains uncertain. In this article, as researchers and implementors, we draw on experiences of designing, implementing and evaluating digital health solutions at scale in Africa and Asia, and provide examples from India and South Africa to illustrate ten considerations to support scale and sustainability of digital health solutions in LMICs. Given the investments being made in digital health solutions and the urgent concurrent needs to strengthen health systems to ensure their responsiveness to marginalized populations in LMICs, we cannot afford to go down roads that ‘lead to nowhere’. These ten considerations focus on drivers of equity and innovation, the foundations for a digital health ecosystem, and the elements for systems integration. We urge technology enthusiasts to consider these issues before and during the roll-out of large-scale digital health initiatives to navigate the complexities of achieving scale and enabling sustainability. 2021-08-18 2024-05-22T12:10:45Z 2024-05-22T12:10:45Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142618 en Open Access John Wiley & Sons LeFevre, Amnesty; Chamberlain, Sara; Singh, Neha S.; Scott, Kerry; Menon, Purnima; Barron, Peter; Ved, Rajani; and George, Asha. 2021. Avoiding the road to nowhere: insights on scaling up and sustaining digital health. Global 12(S6): 110-114. https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.12909
spellingShingle policies
health
technology
sustainability
health services
digital technology
LeFevre, Amnesty
Chamberlain, Sara
Singh, Neha S.
Scott, Kerry
Menon, Purnima
Barron, Peter
Ved, Rajani
George, Asha
Avoiding the road to nowhere: insights on scaling up and sustaining digital health
title Avoiding the road to nowhere: insights on scaling up and sustaining digital health
title_full Avoiding the road to nowhere: insights on scaling up and sustaining digital health
title_fullStr Avoiding the road to nowhere: insights on scaling up and sustaining digital health
title_full_unstemmed Avoiding the road to nowhere: insights on scaling up and sustaining digital health
title_short Avoiding the road to nowhere: insights on scaling up and sustaining digital health
title_sort avoiding the road to nowhere insights on scaling up and sustaining digital health
topic policies
health
technology
sustainability
health services
digital technology
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142618
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