Framing Youth-Centred Digital Health Governance

The rapid development of digital technologies has greatly impacted health systems, especially with regards to children and young people (1). This has, however, brought up critical issues that need to be addressed. As digital technologies are developing, there is a growing need to establish governance that ensures these technologies are effective for children’s well-being without infringing on their rights (2).

Governing bodies need to aim at youth’s well-being and health. Recently, WHO has published the guidelines on Youth-Centered Digital Health Interventions (3). In addition to enabling a more proactive governance that fully leverages the potential of digital health, WHO and ITU have proposed that the countries formulate their own national digital health strategies, supported by dedicated toolkits (4). Although certain governing bodies have pointed out the involvement of the youth, consistent participation is largely missing (5). The emerging and dynamic nature of digital transformations, leaves the government underprepared, leading to reliance on court-driven governance in response to human and child rights violation instead of a  legislatively proactive approach (6). 

Assessing wellbeing in the digital context is complex and challenging, requiring a multidimensional framework that combines both qualitative and quantitative measures (7). A qualitative approach might offer deeper, contextual insights into how young people balance their online and offline time along with the motivations behind their behaviours (7,8). 

References:

1. Holly L, Smith RD, Ndili N, Franz C and Stevens EAG (2022) A Review of Digital Health Strategies in 10 Countries With Young Populations: Do They Serve the Health and Wellbeing of Children and Youth in a Digital Age?. Front. Digit. Health 4:817810. doi: 10.3389/fdgth.2022.817810
2. Siderius L, Perera SD, Gelander L, Jankauskaite L, Katz M, Valiulis A, Hadjipanayis A, Reali L and Grossman Z (2023) Digital child health: opportunities and obstacles. A joint statement of European Academy of Paediatrics and European Confederation of Primary Care Paediatricians. Front. Pediatr. 11:1264829. doi: 10.3389/fped.2023.1264829
3. World Health Organization. Youth-Centred Digital Health Interventions: A Framework for Planning, Developing and Implementing Solutions with and for Young People. Geneva: WHO (2020). Available online at: //apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/336223/9789240011717-eng.pdf
4. World Health Organization and International Telecommunication Union. National eHealth Strategy Toolkit. Geneva: WHO and ITU (2012). Available Youth in Digital Health Strategies online at: //www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-d/opb/str/D-STR-E_HEALTH.05-2012-PDF-E.pdf   (accessed November 18, 2021).
5. Wong BLH, Khurana MP, Smith RD, El-Omrani O, Pold A, Lotfi A, et al. Harnessing the digital potential of the next generation of health professionals. Hum Resour Health. (2020) 19:50. Doi: 10.1186/s12960-021-00591-2
6. Sun N, Esom K, Dhaliwal M, Amon JJ. Human rights and digital health technologies. HealthHumRights. (2020) 22:21 32.
7. Büchi, M., Festic, N., & Latzer, M. (2018). How social well-being is affected by digital inequalities. International Journal of Communication, 12, 3686-3706
8. Cao, S., & Li, H. (2023). A scoping review of digital well-being in early childhood: Definitions, measurements, contributors, and interventions. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(4), 3510.