Harnessing the digital potential of the next generation of health professionals
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Digital technologies are rapidly being integrated into a wide range of health fields. This new domain, often termed 'digital health', has the potential to significantly improve healthcare outcomes and global health equity more broadly. However, its effective implementation and responsible use are contingent on building a health workforce with a sufficient level of knowledge and skills to effectively navigate the digital transformations in health. More specifically, the next generation of health professionals-namely youth-must be adequately prepared to maximise the potential of these digital transformations. In this commentary, we highlight three priority areas which should be prioritised in digital education to realise the benefits of digital health: capacity building, opportunities for youth, and an ethics-driven approach. Firstly, capacity building requires educational frameworks and curricula to not only be updated, but to also place an emphasis on interdisciplinary learning. Secondly, opportunities are important for youth to meaningfully participate in decision-making processes and gain invaluable practical experiences. Thirdly, training in digital ethics and the responsible use of data as a standard component of education will help to safeguard against potential future inequities resulting from the implementation and use of digital health technologies.
Date Issued
2021-04-14
Date Acceptance
2021-03-23
Citation
Human Resources for Health, 2021, 19
ISSN
1478-4491
Publisher
BMC
Journal / Book Title
Human Resources for Health
Volume
19
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2021. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33853625
Subjects
Adolescent
Capacity Building
Curriculum
Health Personnel
Health Workforce
Humans
Learning
Capacity building
Digital education
Digital ethics
Digital health
Digital literacy
Health literacy
Healthcare professionals
Public health
Youth
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Article Number
50
Date Publish Online
2021-04-14