Digital technologies have rapidly changed how we bank, borrow and lend, commute, or order food. The scale of these changes, and the relatively low barriers for individuals to drive such systemic change, have raised great expectations for digital technologies to also impact health and healthcare globally. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the need for improved health data from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and the expectation for digital technologies to provide solutions.
This Research Topic aims to highlight recent experiences along three pathways to help digital technologies engage with LMIC health systems:
a) Market access for digital health innovations:
LMIC health systems often have complex market ecosystems, including national and regional governments, charitable organisations and commercial entities. Markets themselves vary. Countries like India and Indonesia have a large and growing middle class that could sustain “high-volume-low-margin” business models - an attractive strategy for market entry. Absence of large markets with a willingness-to-pay however necessitates other business and financing models. We invite articles that grapple with these challenges either practically or theoretically.
b) Evidence for impact of digital health innovations:
Digital technologies have the potential to generate large sets of real world data on utilisation, efficiency or effectiveness. How evidence generation interfaces with regulations on entry of innovations (often focused on efficacy), the rate of adoption of digital technologies, or the capacity for local academia to support such implementation science, is not clear. We invite articles that describe original research, or methods and experiences in conducting research on digital health technologies in LMICs.
c) Entrepreneurial ecosystem for digital health innovation:
LMICs boast of relatively large numbers of digital technologists and entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial ecosystems here have grown rapidly to support startups with better business practices. However, entrepreneurial efforts in global health face technical and systemic barriers - digital technologists often have a limited understanding of health systems, and health systems are not structured like typical markets that startups can access. A reliable pipeline of digital technologies and innovators is prerequisite for the sustainable growth of digital health innovations. We invite articles that describe approaches and experiences in shaping the entrepreneurial ecosystem for digital health in LMICs.
The overall aim is to share lived experiences and emerging lessons with digital innovations for global public health, and identify pathways to support entry of digital technologies into LMIC health systems. We welcome contributions from a wide range of stakeholders including technologists, social scientists, entrepreneurs, and health systems professionals; LMICs researchers, and female technologists and entrepreneurs are especially encouraged. We will accept a range of publication types as defined by the journal, and especially invite community case studies, brief research reports and commentaries.
Digital technologies have rapidly changed how we bank, borrow and lend, commute, or order food. The scale of these changes, and the relatively low barriers for individuals to drive such systemic change, have raised great expectations for digital technologies to also impact health and healthcare globally. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the need for improved health data from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and the expectation for digital technologies to provide solutions.
This Research Topic aims to highlight recent experiences along three pathways to help digital technologies engage with LMIC health systems:
a) Market access for digital health innovations:
LMIC health systems often have complex market ecosystems, including national and regional governments, charitable organisations and commercial entities. Markets themselves vary. Countries like India and Indonesia have a large and growing middle class that could sustain “high-volume-low-margin” business models - an attractive strategy for market entry. Absence of large markets with a willingness-to-pay however necessitates other business and financing models. We invite articles that grapple with these challenges either practically or theoretically.
b) Evidence for impact of digital health innovations:
Digital technologies have the potential to generate large sets of real world data on utilisation, efficiency or effectiveness. How evidence generation interfaces with regulations on entry of innovations (often focused on efficacy), the rate of adoption of digital technologies, or the capacity for local academia to support such implementation science, is not clear. We invite articles that describe original research, or methods and experiences in conducting research on digital health technologies in LMICs.
c) Entrepreneurial ecosystem for digital health innovation:
LMICs boast of relatively large numbers of digital technologists and entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial ecosystems here have grown rapidly to support startups with better business practices. However, entrepreneurial efforts in global health face technical and systemic barriers - digital technologists often have a limited understanding of health systems, and health systems are not structured like typical markets that startups can access. A reliable pipeline of digital technologies and innovators is prerequisite for the sustainable growth of digital health innovations. We invite articles that describe approaches and experiences in shaping the entrepreneurial ecosystem for digital health in LMICs.
The overall aim is to share lived experiences and emerging lessons with digital innovations for global public health, and identify pathways to support entry of digital technologies into LMIC health systems. We welcome contributions from a wide range of stakeholders including technologists, social scientists, entrepreneurs, and health systems professionals; LMICs researchers, and female technologists and entrepreneurs are especially encouraged. We will accept a range of publication types as defined by the journal, and especially invite community case studies, brief research reports and commentaries.
