Perspective: Improving social connection and inclusion through equitable digital health solutions

Authors/Creators

• Dominika Kwasnicka
• Jaimon Kelly
• Eleanor Quested
• Loretta Baldassar, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
• Suzanne Robinson
• Richard Sinnott
• Paul O’Halloran
• Anne Tiedemann
• Paul Flatau
• Rajna Ogrin
• Jane Farmer
• Abby C. King

Author Identifier (ORCID)

Loretta Baldassar: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6246-4773

Abstract

In this Perspective, we address the critical intersection of digital health, social connection, and health equity. Taking an interdisciplinary and complex adaptive systems perspective, we highlight evidence-based digital solutions to improve social connection and inclusion and, consequently, health outcomes. We describe actionable strategies for ensuring that digital health innovations benefit all, highlighting how user-centered design can address diverse needs, particularly for structurally disadvantaged populations.

Keywords

Digital health, social connection, health equity, user‑centered design, inclusion, disadvantaged populations

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of Publication

12-1-2026

Volume

9

Issue

1

Publication Title

Npj Digital Medicine

Publisher

Nature

School

School of Arts and Humanities

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Comments

Kwasnicka, D., Kelly, J., Quested, E., Baldassar, L., Robinson, S., Sinnott, R., O’Halloran, P., Tiedemann, A., Flatau, P., Ogrin, R., Farmer, J., & King, A. C. (2025). Perspective: Improving social connection and inclusion through equitable digital health solutions. Npj Digital Medicine, 9. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-025-02264-z