eHealth and mHealth Development in Spain: Promise or Reality?

Xosé Mahou, Bran Barral, Ángela Fernández, Ramón Bouzas-Lorenzo and Andrés Cernadas
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Xosé Mahou: Department of Political Science and Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication, University of Vigo, 36005 Pontevedra, Spain
Bran Barral: Department of Political Science and Sociology, Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Ángela Fernández: Department of Political Science and Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication, University of Vigo, 36005 Pontevedra, Spain
Ramón Bouzas-Lorenzo: Department of Political Science and Sociology, Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Andrés Cernadas: Department of Political Science and Sociology, Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 24, 1-17

Abstract: In the last decades, the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has progressively spread to society and public administration. Health is one of the areas in which the use of ICTs has more intensively developed through what is now known as eHealth. That area has recently included mHealth. Spanish health system has stood out as one of the benchmarks of this technological revolution. The development of ICTs applied to health, especially since the outbreak of the pandemic caused by SARS Cov-2, has increased the range of health services delivered through smartphones and the development of subsequent specialized apps. Based on the data of a Survey on Use and Attitudes regarding eHealth in Spain, the aim of this research was to conduct a comparative analysis of the different eHealth and mHealth user profiles. The results show that the user profile of eHealth an mHealth services in Spain is not in a majority. Weaknesses are detected both in the knowledge and use of eHealth services among the general population and in the usability or development of their mobile version. Smartphones can be a democratizing vector, as for now, access to eHealth services is only available to wealthy people, widening inequality.

Keywords: eHealth; mHealth; telemedicine; Spanish national health system; health policy; health equity; public policy; healthcare disparities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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