Digital Disenfranchisement and COVID-19: Broadband Internet Access as a Social Determinant of Health
Digital Disenfranchisement and COVID-19: Broadband Internet Access as a Social Determinant of Health
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DOI：
10.1177/15248399211014490
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发表时间：
2021-05-06
影响因子：
1.9
通讯作者：
Hernandez, Alyssa
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Early, Jody;Hernandez, Alyssa
根据皮尤研究中心的数据，大约四分之一的美国成年人无法使用宽带互联网。这个数字还不包括数百万连接不足或缺乏稳定互联网连接的人。虽然数字鸿沟在美国并不新鲜，但COVID-19（2019冠状病毒病）大流行增加了我们对互联网的社会依赖，并扩大了数字鸿沟。宽带互联网接入已成为这个互联社会的基本需求，将人们与重要资源联系起来，如就业，教育，医疗保健，食品和信息。然而，它仍然是公共卫生领域一个被忽视和研究不足的问题。在这篇文章中，我们强调了五个关键点，为什么倡导为所有人扩展负担得起的和可访问的互联网应该是公共卫生和健康促进的优先问题。最近的研究提供的证据表明，数字权利被剥夺会导致负面的健康结果，经济压迫和种族不公正。现在比以往任何时候都更重要的是，促进数字公平和包容的健康宣传对我们在健康公平方面取得有意义的进展至关重要。
According to the Pew Research Center, approximately one quarter of American adults do not have access to broadband internet. This number does not account for the millions of people who are underconnected or lacking a stable internet connection. Although digital disparity in America is not new, the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic has increased our societal dependence on the internet and widened the digital divide. Access to broadband internet has become a basic need in this connected society, linking people to vital resources, such as jobs, education, health care, food, and information. However, it is still an overlooked and understudied issue in public health. In this article, we highlight five key points for why advocating for the expansion of affordable and accessible internet for all should be a priority issue for public health and health promotion. Recent studies offer evidence that digital disenfranchisement contributes to negative health outcomes, economic oppression, and racial injustice. Now more than ever, health advocacy to promote digital equity and inclusion is critical to our meaningful progress toward health equity.