Poster Presentation Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2019

Access and engagement disparities in digital health in cancer care: stakeholder views on age and other contributing factors (#171)

Emma Kemp 1 , Joshua Trigg 2 , Lisa Beatty 1 , Patricia A.H. Williams 3 , Anthony Maeder 3 , Haryana Dhillon 4 , Chris Christensen 5 , Vincent McCauley 6 , Bogda Koczwara 1 7
  1. College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
  2. Cancer Council SA, Adelaide, South Australia
  3. Flinders Digital Health Research Centre, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
  4. School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
  5. Cancer Voices South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
  6. Telstra Health, Sydney, Australia
  7. Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer, Flinders Medical Centre, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Aims: Digital health approaches offer a promise of better integration and personalisation in cancer care. Potential benefits include support for coordinating care, managing and self-managing complex and long-term health care needs, promotion of health behaviour modification and improving outcomes through longitudinal data monitoring. However, digital health may exacerbate health inequalities if it does not meet the needs of specific populations, or if they are unable to access it effectively. This presentation explores stakeholder views on access and engagement disparities due to older age, in comparison to access and engagement disparities due to other factors.

Methods: Stakeholder consultations on digital health in cancer care were held via telephone interviews and focus groups. Two researchers used a framework informed by literature to iteratively code and thematically analyse transcripts. This presentation reports on themes relating to disparities of access and engagement. ​

Results: Participants included consumers (N=14), health care providers (N=9), researchers (N=6), NGO representatives (N=6), policy/government representatives (N=10), and technology developers (N=6). Older age, and specifically the older population in cancer care, was frequently regarded as a barrier to access and engagement with digital health, with some stakeholders considering that the ‘rise of the digital native’ could reduce disparities. However, stakeholders also recognised that older people can use technology adeptly, and identified digital literacy, health literacy and socioeconomic factors as impacting disparities of access and engagement with digital health in cancer care.

Conclusions: Despite older age acting as a barrier to access and engagement with digital health in cancer care for some, Australian stakeholders identify a range of other factors that affect disparity and inclusivity in digital health in cancer care. Reducing disparities in access, engagement and potential benefits of digital health requires an approach that addresses digital and health literacy and socioeconomic factors.