IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0195447.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Innovative technologies and social inequalities in health: A scoping review of the literature

Author

Listed:
  • Daniel Weiss
  • Håvard T Rydland
  • Emil Øversveen
  • Magnus Rom Jensen
  • Solvor Solhaug
  • Steinar Krokstad

Abstract

The aim of this study was to systematically review the range, nature, and extent of current research activity exploring the influence of innovative health-related technologies on social inequalities in health, with specific focus on a deeper understanding of the variables used to measure this connection and the pathways leading to the (re)production of inequalities. A review process was conducted, based on scoping review techniques, searching literature published from January 1, 1996 to November 25, 2016 using MEDLINE, Scopus, and ISI web of science. Search, sorting, and data extraction processes were conducted by a team of researchers and experts using a dynamic, reflexive examination process. Of 4139 studies collected from the search process, a total of 33 were included in the final analysis. Results of this study include the classification of technologies based on how these technologies are accessed and used by end users. In addition to the factors and mechanisms that influence unequal access to technologies, the results of this study highlight the importance of variations in use that importantly shape social inequalities in health. Additionally, focus on health care services technologies must be accompanied by investigating emerging technologies influencing healthy lifestyle, genomics, and personalized devices in health. Findings also suggest that choosing one measure of social position over another has important implications for the interpretation of research results. Furthermore, understanding the pathways through which various innovative health technologies reduce or (re)produce social inequalities in health is context dependent. In order to better understand social inequalities in health, these contextual variations draw attention to the need for critical distinctions between technologies based on how these various technologies are accessed and used. The results of this study provide a comprehensive starting point for future research to further investigate how innovative technologies may influence the unequal distribution of health as a human right.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Weiss & Håvard T Rydland & Emil Øversveen & Magnus Rom Jensen & Solvor Solhaug & Steinar Krokstad, 2018. "Innovative technologies and social inequalities in health: A scoping review of the literature," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(4), pages 1-20, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0195447
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0195447
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0195447
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0195447&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0195447?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Polonijo, Andrea N. & Carpiano, Richard M., 2013. "Social inequalities in adolescent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination: A test of fundamental cause theory," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 115-125.
    2. Barclay, G. & Sabina, A. & Graham, G., 2014. "Population health and technology: Placing people first," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 104(12), pages 2246-2247.
    3. Pen-Jen Wang & Yiing-Jenq Chou & Cheng-Hua Lee & Christy Pu, 2010. "Diffusion of new medication across different income groups under a universal health insurance program: an example involving newly enlisted nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for elderly osteoarthrit," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 55(5), pages 497-506, October.
    4. Goldman Dana P & Lakdawalla Darius N., 2005. "A Theory of Health Disparities and Medical Technology," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 4(1), pages 1-30, September.
    5. Rubin, M.S. & Colen, C.G. & Link, B.G., 2010. "Examination of inequalities in HIV/AIDS mortality in the United States from a fundamental cause perspective," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 100(6), pages 1053-1059.
    6. Korda, Rosemary J. & Clements, Mark S. & Dixon, Jane, 2011. "Socioeconomic inequalities in the diffusion of health technology: Uptake of coronary procedures as an example," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(2), pages 224-229, January.
    7. Slade, Eric P. & Anderson, Gerard F., 2001. "The relationship between per capita income and diffusion of medical technologies," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(1), pages 1-14, October.
    8. Woolf, S.H. & Johnson, R.E. & Phillips Jr., R.L. & Philipsen, M., 2007. "Giving everyone the health of the educated: An examination of whether social change would save more lives than medical advances," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 97(4), pages 679-683.
    9. Sebastião Loureiro & Bruno Simões & Erika Aragão & Fabio Mota & Hamilton Moura & Luciano Damasceno, 2007. "Diffusion of Medical Technology and Equity in Health in Brazil: an Exploratory Analysis," The European Journal of Development Research, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 19(1), pages 66-80.
    10. Mackenbach, Johan P., 2012. "The persistence of health inequalities in modern welfare states: The explanation of a paradox," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(4), pages 761-769.
    11. Ketan Shankardass & Orielle Solar & Kelly Murphy & Lorraine Greaves & Patricia O’Campo, 2012. "A scoping review of intersectoral action for health equity involving governments," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 57(1), pages 25-33, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Poulin, Laura I.L. & Skinner, Mark W. & Fox, Mary T., 2023. "Bed flow priorities and the spatial and temporal dimensions of rural older adult care," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 336(C).
    2. Oluwafemi P Owodunni & Elliott R Haut & Dauryne L Shaffer & Deborah B Hobson & Jiangxia Wang & Gayane Yenokyan & Peggy S Kraus & Jonathan K Aboagye & Katherine L Florecki & Kristen L W Webster & Chris, 2020. "Using electronic health record system triggers to target delivery of a patient-centered intervention to improve venous thromboembolism prevention for hospitalized patients: Is there a differential eff," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(1), pages 1-14, January.
    3. Puckett, Cassidy & Wong, Jenise C. & Daley, Tanicia C. & Cossen, Kristina, 2020. "How organizations shape medical technology allocation: Insulin pumps and pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 249(C).
    4. Rydland, Håvard T., 2020. "Monitoring the social gradient: Inequalities in use of blood pressure monitors in the HUNT study," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    5. Meghan A Novisky & Kathryn M Nowotny & Dylan B Jackson & Alexander Testa & Michael G Vaughn, 2021. "Incarceration as a Fundamental Social Cause of Health Inequalities: Jails, Prisons and Vulnerability to COVID-19 [‘Flattening the Curve for Incarcerated Populations—Covid-19 in Jails and Prisons’]," The British Journal of Criminology, Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, vol. 61(6), pages 1630-1646.
    6. Badr, Janine & Motulsky, Aude & Denis, Jean-Louis, 2024. "Digital health technologies and inequalities: A scoping review of potential impacts and policy recommendations," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    7. Maria Gabriella Melchiorre & Giovanni Lamura & Francesco Barbabella & on behalf of ICARE4EU Consortium, 2018. "eHealth for people with multimorbidity: Results from the ICARE4EU project and insights from the “10 e’s” by Gunther Eysenbach," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(11), pages 1-26, November.
    8. Hassane Alami & Pascale Lehoux & Sara E. Shaw & Chrysanthi Papoutsi & Sarah Rybczynska-Bunt & Jean-Paul Fortin, 2022. "Virtual Care and the Inverse Care Law: Implications for Policy, Practice, Research, Public and Patients," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-16, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rydland, Håvard T., 2020. "Monitoring the social gradient: Inequalities in use of blood pressure monitors in the HUNT study," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    2. Fenton, Anny T. & Elliott, Marc N. & Schwebel, David C. & Berkowitz, Zahava & Liddon, Nicole C. & Tortolero, Susan R. & Cuccaro, Paula M. & Davies, Suzy L. & Schuster, Mark A., 2018. "Unequal interactions: Examining the role of patient-centered care in reducing inequitable diffusion of a medical innovation, the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 238-248.
    3. Sean A. P. Clouston & Marcie S. Rubin & Jo C. Phelan & Bruce G. Link, 2016. "A Social History of Disease: Contextualizing the Rise and Fall of Social Inequalities in Cause-Specific Mortality," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 53(5), pages 1631-1656, October.
    4. Clouston, Sean A.P. & Rubin, Marcie S. & Chae, David H. & Freese, Jeremy & Nemesure, Barbara & Link, Bruce G., 2017. "Fundamental causes of accelerated declines in colorectal cancer mortality: Modeling multiple ways that disadvantage influences mortality risk," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 1-10.
    5. Frankovic, Ivan & Kuhn, Michael, 2019. "Access to health care, medical progress and the emergence of the longevity gap: A general equilibrium analysis," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 14(C).
    6. Barton Hamilton & Andrés Hincapié & Emma C. Kalish & Nicholas W. Papageorge, 2021. "Medical Innovation and Health Disparities," NBER Working Papers 28864, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Zapata-Moya, Angel R. & Freese, Jeremy & Bracke, Piet, 2023. "Mechanism substitution in preventive innovations: Dissecting the reproduction of health inequalities in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 337(C).
    8. Lina Schollin Ask & Can Liu & Karl Gauffin & Anders Hjern, 2019. "The Effect of Rotavirus Vaccine on Socioeconomic Differentials of Paediatric Care Due to Gastroenteritis in Swedish Infants," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-10, March.
    9. Olof Östergren & Pekka Martikainen & Olle Lundberg, 2018. "The contribution of alcohol consumption and smoking to educational inequalities in life expectancy among Swedish men and women during 1991–2008," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 63(1), pages 41-48, January.
    10. Albarrán, Pedro & Hidalgo-Hidalgo, Marisa & Iturbe-Ormaetxe, Iñigo, 2020. "Education and adult health: Is there a causal effect?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 249(C).
    11. Liliya Leopold & Thomas Leopold, 2016. "Education and Health across Lives and Cohorts: A Study of Cumulative Advantage in Germany," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 835, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    12. Alaimo, Leonardo Salvatore & Ivaldi, Enrico & Landi, Stefano & Maggino, Filomena, 2022. "Measuring and evaluating socio-economic inequality in small areas: An application to the urban units of the Municipality of Genoa," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    13. Teresa Leão & Inês Campos-Matos & Clare Bambra & Giuliano Russo & Julian Perelman, 2018. "Welfare states, the Great Recession and health: Trends in educational inequalities in self-reported health in 26 European countries," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(2), pages 1-14, February.
    14. Laura Cacciani & Anna Maria Bargagli & Giulia Cesaroni & Francesco Forastiere & Nera Agabiti & Marina Davoli, 2015. "Education and Mortality in the Rome Longitudinal Study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(9), pages 1-12, September.
    15. Smed, Sinne & Hansen, Lars Garn, 2018. "Consumer Valuation of Health Attributes in Food," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 43(2), May.
    16. Dana Hübelová & Martina Kuncová & Hana Vojáčková & Jitka Coufalová & Alice Kozumplíková & Francois Stefanus Lategan & Beatrice-Elena Chromková Manea, 2021. "Inequalities in Health: Methodological Approaches to Spatial Differentiation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-21, November.
    17. Vonneilich, Nico & Lüdecke, Daniel & von dem Knesebeck, Olaf, 2020. "Educational inequalities in self-rated health and social relationships – analyses based on the European Social Survey 2002-2016," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    18. Elgar, Frank J. & De Clercq, Bart & Schnohr, Christina W. & Bird, Phillippa & Pickett, Kate E. & Torsheim, Torbjørn & Hofmann, Felix & Currie, Candace, 2013. "Absolute and relative family affluence and psychosomatic symptoms in adolescents," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 25-31.
    19. Ludwig, Jens & Marcotte, Dave E. & Norberg, Karen, 2009. "Anti-depressants and suicide," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 659-676, May.
    20. Claudia Börnhorst & Dörte Heger & Anne Mensen, 2019. "Associations of childhood health and financial situation with quality of life after retirement – regional variation across Europe," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(4), pages 1-17, April.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0195447. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.