Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Chapter 1: Role of Digital Health, mHealth, and Low-Cost Technologies in Advancing Universal Health Coverage in Emerging Economies

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Technology and Global Public Health

Abstract

There has been a tremendous amount of global momentum in recent years toward achieving universal health coverage. This is especially the case in light of the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which charge member states with achieving universal health coverage for all of their citizens. This chapter will explore the ways in which technology, specifically digital health, mobile health (mHealth), and other low-cost technology will help to advance the achievement of universal health coverage. Specific industries, such as the aviation industry, and their role in advancing technology and universal health coverage will also be explored. Of course, there will always be a disparity in technology’s effectiveness in doing this in different countries given the differences in economies, cultures, and geography. Ways in which the global disparities in technology availability will also be examined, as well as how they can be challenged.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. World Health Organization. Global Strategy on Digital Health 2020–2024. 2019. Accessed 10 July 2019. Retrieved from https://extranet.who.int/dataform/upload/surveys/183439/files/Draft%20Global%20Strategy%20on%20Digital%20Health.pdf

  2. World Health Organization. WHO/ITU National eHealth Strategy Toolkit, 2012. Accessed 10 July 2019. Retrieved from https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/75211

  3. World Health Organization. WHO EB142/20 mHealth Use of appropriate digital technologies for public health. 2017. Accessed 10 July 2019. Retrieved from http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB142/B142_20-en.pdf

  4. Weiss B, Pollack AA. Barriers to global health development: an international quantitative survey. PLoS One. 2017;12(10):e0184846. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0184846.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. World Health Organization.|Global Observatory for eHealth series – Volume 3. 2011. Accessed 10 July 2019. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/goe/publications/ehealth_series_vol3/en/

  6. Becker Hospital review. 10 Biggest Technological Advancements for Healthcare in the Last Decade. 2014. Accessed 10 July 2019. Retrieved from https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/10-biggest-technological-advancements-for-healthcare-in-the-last-decade.html

  7. Continuum. Top 20 Health care advances in 2018. 2018. Accessed 10 July 2019. Retrieved from https://www.carecloud.com/continuum/top-20-healthcare-technology-advances/

  8. Voice of America. Drones deliver medical supplies in Ghana. 2019. Accessed 10 July 2019. Retrieved from https://www.voanews.com/africa/drones-deliver-medical-supplies-ghana

  9. Med Tech Impact on Wellness. 2019. Accessed 10 July 2019. Retrieved from https://www.medtechimpact.com/how-technology-is-transforming-womens-health/

  10. Orbis International. Orbis. n.d. Accessed 10 July 2019. Retrieved from https://www.orbis.org/en/about-us/our-history

  11. Mercy ships. Mercy ships volunteers perform 100,000th free surgical procedure. n.d. Accessed 10 July 2019. Retrieved from https://www.mercyships.org/blog/mercy-ships-volunteers-perform-100000th-free-surgical-procedure/

  12. Meara JG, Leather AJ, Hagander L, Alkire BC, Alonso N, Ameh EA et al. Global surgery 2030, evidence and solutions for achieving health care, welfare and economic development – Lancet (2015) https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60160-X. Accessed 10 July 2019. Retrieved from https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)60160-X/fulltext

  13. Piette JD, Valverde H, Marinec N, et al. Establishing an independent mobile health program for chronic disease self-management support in Bolivia. Front Public Health. 2014;2:95. Published 2014 Aug 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2014.00095.

  14. Silver L, Smith A, Johnson C et al. Mobile connectivity in emerging economies. Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. 2019. Accessed 10 July 2019. Retrieved from https://www.pewinternet.org/2019/03/07/mobile-connectivity-in-emerging-economies/

  15. Latif S, Rana R, Qadir J, Ali A, Imran M, Younis M. Mobile health in the developing world: review of literature and lessons from a case study. IEEE Access. 2017;5:11540–56. https://doi.org/10.1109/access.2017.2710800.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Wasden C, Weirz D. mHealth transforming healthcare in emerging markets. 2014. Accessed 10 July 2019. Retrieved from https://www.himss.org/mhealth-transforming-healthcare-emerging-markets

  17. O’Shea C, McGavigan A, Clark R, Chew D, Ganesan A. Mobile health: an emerging technology with implications for global internal medicine. Intern Med J. 2017;47(6):616–9. https://doi.org/10.1111/imj.13440.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Research P. Digital health market to have huge growth potential in the emerging economies of the world: P&S market research. GlobeNewswire News Room. 2018. Accessed 10 July 2019. Retrieved from https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/05/30/1514144/0/en/Digital-Health-Market-to-Have-Huge-Growth-Potential-in-the-Emerging-Economies-of-the-World-P-S-Market-Research.html

  19. UNICEF USA Patrick, Mensah & Sanka Laar, David. E-Health dedicated hybrid cloud: a solution to Ghana’s health delivery problems. 2012. Accessed 10 July 2019. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285926789_E-Health_Dedicated_Hybrid_Cloud_a_Solution_to_Ghana’s_Health_Delivery_Problems

  20. Woods E. 2010. Accessed 10 July 2019. Retrieved from http://wikisarvn.pbworks.com/f/Africa+Aid+MDNet+Physician+In-Network.pdf

  21. World Bank. Bolivia | Data. 2018. Accessed 10 July 2019. Retrieved from https://data.worldbank.org/country/bolivia

  22. Piette JD, Valverde H, Marinec N, et al. Establishing an independent mobile health program for chronic disease self-management support in Bolivia. Front Public Health. 2014;2:95. Published 2014 Aug 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2014.00095.

  23. Francis M. 5 Types of Mobile Health Apps. Skedulo. 2018. Accessed 10 July 2019. Retrieved from https://www.skedulo.com/blog/5-types-mobile-health-apps/

  24. World Bank. Ukraine | Data. 2018. Accessed 10 July 2019. Retrieved from https://data.worldbank.org/country/ukraine

  25. Launch of the first telemedicine network in Ukraine – United Nations in Ukraine. 2010. Accessed 10 July 2019. Retrieved from http://www.un.org.ua/en/information-centre/news/1218-2010-07-28-10-54-15

  26. Iyer S. Decision resource group. 11 unique tech solutions that are transforming India’s healthcare. 2018. Accessed 10 July 2019. Retrieved from https://decisionresourcesgroup.com/blog/11-unique-tech-solutions-transforming-indias-healthcare/

  27. Block Geeks. Rosic, A., What is Blockchain technology? A step-by-step guide for beginners. 2016. Accessed 10 July 2019. Retrieved from https://blockgeeks.com/guides/what-is-blockchain-technology/

  28. Block Geeks. Blockchain in healthcare: The Ultimate use case? 2019. Accessed 10 July 2019. Retrieved from https://blockgeeks.com/guides/blockchain-in-healthcare/

  29. BIS Research. Global Blockchain in healthcare market. Focus on Industry Analysis and Opportunity Matrix – Analysis and Forecast:2018–25. Accessed 10 July 2019.. Retrieved from https://bisresearch.com/industry-report/global-blockchain-in-healthcare-market-2025.html

  30. Collier J. mHealth: What is it, and how can it help us? 2018. Accessed 10 July 2019. Retrieved from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322865.php

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. New York Medical College School of Health Sciences and Practice, Valhalla, NY, USA

    Padmini Murthy

  2. Medical Women’s International Association and NGO Representative to United Nations, New York, NY, USA

    Padmini Murthy

  3. American Medical Women’s Association, Schaumburg, IL, USA

    Padmini Murthy

  4. Institute for International Health and Education, Albany, NY, USA

    Mahtab Naji

Authors
  1. Padmini Murthy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mahtab Naji
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Padmini Murthy .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Health Sciences and Practice, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, USA

    Padmini Murthy

  2. School of Health Sciences and Practice, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, USA

    Amy Ansehl

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Murthy, P., Naji, M. (2020). Chapter 1: Role of Digital Health, mHealth, and Low-Cost Technologies in Advancing Universal Health Coverage in Emerging Economies. In: Murthy, P., Ansehl, A. (eds) Technology and Global Public Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46355-7_6

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46355-7_6

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-46354-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-46355-7

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation