Digital technologies shape the way in which individuals and health systems interact to promote health and treat illness. Their propensity to exacerbate inequalities is increasingly being highlighted as a concern for public health. Personal, contextual and technological factors all interact and determine uptake and consequent use of digital technologies for health. Digitalization and the introduction of telemedicine services have demonstrably improved equity in delivering health care services. Digital tech is making healthcare proactive as opposed to reactive, enlarging and enabling access to quality healthcare for communities that were traditionally underserved or marginalized and for home health care. In this scenario, there are still relevant ethical issues that need to be addressed in order to ensure an effective and efficient care in digital medicine. The Topic Editors are inviting papers on a range of research, practices, and educational topics regarding ethical issues particularly related to the experience of patients, front line healthcare professionals, and healthcare managers.

In a rapidly changing world, the pursuit of health equity and inclusion remains at the forefront of countries’ goals. While progress has been made globally in recognising health equity as a pivotal element for achieving better health outcomes, there is still little discourse around genuine inclusion—ensuring that every individual, regardless of their background or circumstances, has a voice and role in their healthcare decisions. With non-communicable diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer becoming increasingly prevalent, their implications extend beyond health and encompass economic consequences. Through insightful case studies, this report aims to illuminate feasible strategies that countries can adopt to ensure that healthcare is equitable and inclusive and that the influence of social determinants of health is minimised.

Health care delivery is shifting away from the clinic and into the home. Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of telehealth, wearable sensors, ambient surveillance, and other products was on the rise. In the coming years, patients will increasingly interact with digital products at every stage of their care, such as using wearable sensors to monitor changes in temperature or blood pressure, conducting self-directed testing before virtually meeting with a physician for a diagnosis, and using smart pills to document their adherence to prescribed treatments. This volume reflects on the explosion of at-home digital health care and explores the ethical, legal, regulatory, and reimbursement impacts of this shift away from the 20th-century focus on clinics and hospitals towards a more modern health care model. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

This book contains the proceedings of the 4TH International Conference on Computational Methods in Science and Technology (ICCMST 2024). The proceedings explores research and innovation in the field of Internet of things, Cloud Computing, Machine Learning, Networks, System Design and Methodologies, Big Data Analytics and Applications, ICT for Sustainable Environment, Artificial Intelligence and it provides real time assistance and security for advanced stage learners, researchers and academicians has been presented. This will be a valuable read to researchers, academicians, undergraduate students, postgraduate students, and professionals within the fields of Computer Science, Sustainability and Artificial Intelligence.

In the dynamic environment of healthcare, the fusion of Computational Intelligence and Healthcare Industry 4.0 has enabled remarkable advancements in disease detection and analysis. However, a critical challenge persists – the limitations of current computational intelligence approaches in dealing with small sample sizes. This setback hampers the performance of these innovative models, hindering their potential impact on medical applications. As we stand at the crossroads of technological innovation and healthcare evolution, the need for a solution becomes paramount. Advances in Computational Intelligence for the Healthcare Industry 4.0 is a comprehensive guide addressing the very heart of this challenge. Designed for academics, researchers, healthcare professionals, and stakeholders in Healthcare Industry 4.0, this book serves as a source of innovation. It not only illuminates the complexities of computational intelligence in healthcare but also provides a roadmap for overcoming the limitations posed by small sample sizes. From fundamental principles to innovative concepts, this book offers a holistic perspective, shaping the future of healthcare through the lens of computational intelligence and Healthcare Industry 4.0.

Health care is in the midst of a dramatic transformation in the United States. Spurred by technological advances, economic imperatives, and governmental policies, information technologies are rapidly being applied to health care in an effort to improve access, enhance quality, and decrease costs. At the same time, the use of technologies by the consumers of health care is changing how people interact with the health care system and with health information. These changes in health care have the potential both to exacerbate and to diminish the stark disparities in health and well-being that exist among population groups in the United States. If the benefits of technology flow disproportionately to those who already enjoy better coverage, use, and outcomes than disadvantaged groups, heath disparities could increase. But if technologies can be developed and implemented in such a way to improve access and enhance quality for the members of all groups, the ongoing transformation of health care could reduce the gaps among groups while improving health care for all. To explore the potential for further insights into, and opportunities to address, disparities in underserved populations the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine held a workshop in October 2014. The workshop focused on (1) how communities are using digital health technologies to improve health outcomes for racial and ethnic minority populations, (2) how community engagement can improve access to high-quality health information for members of these groups, and (3) on models of successful technology-based strategies to reduce health disparities. This report summarizes the presentations and discussions at the workshop.

The COVID-19 pandemic is only the latest prompt about the importance of international health and its broad influence upon social wellbeing. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for an informed and coordinated effort to achieve international healthcare equity. Leaders in international health must be conversant in its issues. Contemporary Issues in Global Medicine and Moving Toward International Healthcare Equity provides an understanding of contemporary issues in international medicine. It explores the impact of civil unrest on population health and provides practical strategies for providing clinical care in low resource settings. Covering topics such as international public health, maternal health, and drug resistance, this book is an essential resource for government officials, medical officials, physicians, nurses, social workers, sociologists, epidemiologists, medical students, students and educators of higher education, researchers, and academicians.

Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics and the Affiliated Conferences, Nice, France, 24-27 July 2024.