Transformative health reforms post-2020 brought the digitization of healthcare to the forefront. This paradigm shift prompts an exploration of digital access and its repercussions on health disparities. The COVID-19 pandemic has not only highlighted the increased risks of morbidity associated with existing inequalities but has also brought these long-suppressed disparities into mainstream media discourse, emphasizing their enduring presence and impact on health outcomes.
This research topic investigates how communities use tools such as social innovation to tackle health disparities in underserved communities in the borough of Brent. Brent serves as a microcosm of the broader national landscape in the UK with the prevalence of structural health inequities, at the national level and within the borough itself. Looking at this topic from the lens of digital innovations, especially within the post – Covid Pandemic period, the team aimed to trace barriers and catalysts to healthcare access especially the digital exclusion confronting older people or those with limited digital literacy, restricted digital access in households with lower incomes and substantial backlog for GP appointments and specialist referral.
Hard to Reach
The socioeconomically and ethnically diverse borough of Brent with emerging and recurrent barriers to digital healthcare accessibility, quality, and provision.
Key Takeaways
Since the pandemic, Brent’s health system has been built on a complex infrastructure of services within the health and digital ecosystems, catering to its residents. The research team recommends a two-sided framework, to improve the robustness and relevance of health service provision and digital tools:
- Co-production: Improving the applicability of digital health services, recognizing the need for co-production in the decision-making process, prior to implementation
- Adoption: The adoption of these digital tools, particularly targeting the communicability of interventions and their short and long-term implementation
Researchers
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Konrad Kraemer
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Juliette Henry
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Bhavisha Darji
Mentors
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Julius Mugwagwa
Professor of Health Innovation and Public Policy at University College London, Department of Science, Technology Engineering and Public Policy (UCL STEaPP)
Acknowledgments
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone involved in this project. Special thanks to our faculty mentors, Professor Julius Mugwagwa and Maria Kett, as well as early team members Nikhil Murali and Emma Wills. We also appreciate Fernando Garcia Albero for his early guidance on research and stakeholder engagement in Brent, as well as Remy Twiringiyimana for their valuable feedback on our report. We are immensely grateful to the 10 professional stakeholders who generously shared their time, expertise, and personal stories with us. Their insights were invaluable in advancing our understanding.
A sincere thank you to the UCL Global Engagement Team, Annie Brown, and Clement Leroy, for their logistical support throughout the project. Finally, our deepest appreciation goes to our Reach Team coach, Nicole Jolly, and the entire Reach team for their continued support.
This project was approved by the Ethics Review Board of University College London (ID: 28003/001).