The subtitle of this post should be Why research blogging matters! The story started on  November 9th, 2011, as a result of my exploratory research  I posted Social determinants of Health and ICT for Health (eHealth) conceptual framework. This post was followed by several comments with substantial contributions specially by Susannah Fox (@SusannahFox) and her wonderful, inspiring and transparent research at PEW Research Center and by Lareen Newman from Flinders University of South Australia.

It was a pleasure to have Susannah summary on my blog but I must confess that I didn’t know Lareen Newman works (my fault). Nevertheless, after her comment we started a fruitful conversation by email. As result of this conversation and due to her visit to Europe I will have the pleasure to meet Lareen face to face in Barcelona. Moreover, Lareen will give a seminar entitled entitled Internet Inequalities & Health in Australia: Research, Policy and Service Challenges organised by my research institute (Internet Interdiciplinary Institute - IN3).

I want to reproduce here the abstract and invite you to attend to the seminar

Internet Inequalities & Health in Australia: Research, Policy and Service Challenges
Dr Lareen Newman, Flinders University; Adelaide, Australia

Australian governments and health organisations are increasingly using digital technologies to communicate with the public, with increasing amounts of online information, iApps, and web-based self-management. These changes are being strongly encouraged by policies such as Australia’s National Digital Economy Strategy (Department of Broadband, Communications & The Digital Economy 2011) and National E-Health Strategy (Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council 2008). These aim to increase digital communication with the public in order to reduce government costs and to improve public access. The Internet and new National Broadband Network are seen as particularly attractive opportunities to improve access to services over the vast distances experienced by Australians living in rural and remote areas. However, these national strategies overlook the fact that there is a social gradient in access to technologies such as the Internet, mobile phones and Smartphones. The literacy levels of Australian adults may also be a key barrier to online participation which is not addressed by the standard government remedies of ICT training courses and new infrastructure roll-outs.

This presentation will first provide an overview of Internet inequalities across the Australian population, drawing on national Census and survey data. It will then present findings from empirical qualitative research in Australia with a range of lower-income and disadvantaged groups, older non-English speaking migrants, and young people with disabilities. This research has found that Internet and mobile phone access and use are underpinned by a complexity of socioeconomic inequalities and social determinants of health (eg education, income, employment and social connections). The presentation will identify implications of these complexities for service access and equity. It will discuss the need to go beyond the Digital Divide to consider social processes of Digital Exclusion, and the extent to which exclusion may be inadvertently precipitated by government. Finally it will introduce the concept of a Digital Equity Impact Assessment Tool which is being developed to enable services and policymakers to assess the equity effects of introducing digital communication and to develop mitigating strategies to maximise digital access.

IMPORTANT: Registration by sending an email to Montse Mir (mmirb@uoc.edu).

Where: MEDIATIC Building, 7th. floor, William J. Mitchell Hall, Roc Boronat street, 117, 08018

When: Monday, 12 November 2012 (10:00 - 11:30)