What is Digital Inclusion? Digital Inclusion refers to the activities necessary to ensure that all individuals and communities, including the most disadvantaged, have access to and use of information and communications technologies. Digital inclusion for health care includes three core components:
- Access to affordable and adequate broadband internet service.
- Access to video-enabled devices.
- Access to digital literacy training and resources.
Check out this blog post on Digital Access: A Super Determinant of Health for a deeper dive! Here are two resources that help you identify areas where there are digital equity challenges:
- Microsoft Digital Equity Tool: intended to empower policymakers to identify regions with digital equity gaps!
- American Telemedicine Association Digital Infrastracture Score (DIS) Tool: A composite index designed to help identify communities with barriers to internet access.
- Broadband Mapping Tool: This is still a work in progress, but was developed as part of the Telehealth Broadband Pilot Program made possible by grant #GA540183 from the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth, Health Resources and Services Administration.
General Digital Literacy and Equity Resources:
- Primer on Digital Health Literacy developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality provides and overview of digital health literacy, including background components, impact on patient safety, strategies or improvement and current context.
- Telehealth Access for Seniors provides seniors and low-income communities with devices, instructions and free tech-support to connect them to their physicians via telehealth through the generosity of donations and volunteers. Visit their website to donate, request technical support (individuals) or to request assistance with accessing phones/tablets for your patients (clinics only).
- The National Digital Equity Center advocates for Digital Inclusion which includes Affordable Broadband, Affordable Equipment and Public Computer Access. The National Digital Equity Center is focused on creating digitally literate citizens across Maine and beyond, providing communities with the expertise to mobilize broadband technologies through digital inclusion and literacy efforts. While many of the resources are focused on Maine, there are also many educational resources applicable to all including online webinars/classes.
- The National Digital Inclusion Alliance advances digital equity by supporting community programs and equipping policymakers to act.
- iCanConnect, also known as the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program (NDBEDP), was established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). iCanConnect provides free equipment including smartphones, tablets, computers, screen readers, braille displays, and more to people who meet federal disability and income guidelines.
- National Assistive Technology Act Technical Assistance and Training (AT3) Center is your one-stop connection to information about the Assistive Technology Act, State Assistive Technology Programs, and general assistive technology.
- Telehealth Equity Coalition is building a wide coalition of supporters to advocate for greater access to telehealth, with a specific focus on broadband and hardware access, digital and health literacy, trust and accountability, social determinants of health, educating communities about telehealth and evidence and value based care.
- Digitunity (Digital Opportunity Network) is working to eliminate the technology gap in partnership with a network of stakeholders. While not focused on health care, some of their initiatives include refurbishing computers and creating pathways to device ownership.
Screening for Digital Literacy Resources:
- Reframing Equity: A Multi-Perspective Analysis of Telehealth Screening Tools through the Lens of Patients and Clinicians: This study looked at five telehealth literacy screening tools and found that perspectives differed between patients and clinicians regarding optimal telehealth literacy screening tools.
- Available Tools to Evaluation Digital Health Literacy and Engagement with eHealth Resources: A Scoping Review: This systematic literature search identifies tools currently used to assess digital health literacy.
Digital Navigator Resources: Digital navigators are trusted guides who assist community members in internet adoption and the use of computing devices. Digital navigation services include ongoing assistance with affordable internet access, device acquisition, technical skills, and application support.
- NCTRC Digital Navigation Toolkit: This toolkit provides helpful resource links relating to digital navigation.
- The Digital Navigator Model and Additional Resources: The Digital Navigator model is a replicable framework for organizations already providing digital inclusion services or those entering the digital inclusion space to ensure that their constituents can connect with them online.
- NRTRC Navigating the Telehealth Neighborhood: A Guide to Telehealth Access for Digital Navigators (Self-Paced Training Course): This course was created with digital navigators in mind, but is a great introduction to telehealth for anyone assisting a learner, patient or loved one in accessing telehealth.
Free/Low Cost Broadband Access Resources:
- Everyoneon.org: This tool assists users with finding low-cost Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and computers/devices.
- The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP): Established by Congress in 2021, the ACP has been instrumental in aiding households grappling with the financial strains of accessing internet services. However, as of yesterday (February 7, 2024), enrollment in the program has officially closed. Without further action from Congress to allocate funding, the existing resources for the ACP are projected to deplete by the end of April 2024. Here are some resources related to the wind-down of this program:
- Lifeline: This Federal Program gives people from eligible households a monthly discount on their phone and internet services. Lifeline benefits can be used separately or in conjunction with the Affordable Connectivity Program.
Broadband Initiatives
- Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program: Provides $42.5 billion to expand high-speed internet access by funding planning, infrastructure deployment and adoption programs in all 50 states, Washington DC, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Telehealth Access Points (TAPs) Resources: While helping those who can't afford broadband to access it is useful if there is a cellular or cable or fiber solution, there still remain areas in the U.S. that simply do not have this infrastructure. Some creative ways to help people access the internet that have been used include:
- Making available wi-fi access from schools, libraries, houses of worship and other businesses (or even their parking lots) become access points for individuals.
- Developing public wi-fi access points in the community such as in an abandoned store fronts or other un-used community facilities.
- Retro-fitting library study rooms or un-used spaces in schools or store fronts can provide private spaces for those without internet access or with privacy issues in their homes. One can also put in kiosks with devices in areas of the community that do have broadband access and make available devices to be "checked out" is also another way to increase digital equity.
Here are a few resources related to TAPs:
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- TAP Into Telehealth: Innovative Models of Telehealth Access Points (TAPs) Webinar
- TAP Location Finder Map (toggle TAPs to on)
- Libraries as TAP's:
- Telehealth in Libraries: Pre-Implementation Workbook
- Library Telehealth Guide
- Examples of TAPs in Public Libraries:
- Banks as TAP's: