Digital Health Strategies to Fight COVID-19 Worldwide: Challenges, Recommendations, and a Call for Papers

Abstract

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has created an urgent need for coordinated mechanisms to respond to the outbreak across health sectors, and digital health solutions have been identified as promising approaches to address this challenge. This editorial discusses the current situation regarding digital health solutions to fight COVID-19 as well as the challenges and ethical hurdles to broad and long-term implementation of these solutions. To decrease the risk of infection, telemedicine has been used as a successful health care model in both emergency and primary care. Official communication plans should promote facile and diverse channels to inform people about the pandemic and to avoid rumors and reduce threats to public health. Social media platforms such as Twitter and Google Trends analyses are highly beneficial to model pandemic trends as well as to monitor the evolution of patients’ symptoms or public reaction to the pandemic over time. However, acceptability of digital solutions may face challenges due to potential conflicts with users’ cultural, moral, and religious backgrounds. Digital tools can provide collective public health benefits; however, they may be intrusive and can erode individual freedoms or leave vulnerable populations behind. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the strong potential of various digital health solutions that have been tested during the crisis. More concerted measures should be implemented to ensure that future digital health initiatives will have a greater impact on the epidemic and meet the most strategic needs to ease the life of people who are at the forefront of the crisis.

Belief in a COVID-19 Conspiracy Theory as a Predictor of Mental Health and Well-Being of Health Care Workers in Ecuador: Cross-Sectional Survey Study

“…In addition, this study has important implications for the dissemination of scientific and health information. Previous research has recognized the important role of web-based scientific communication in combating conspiracy theories [ 1 , 26 ]. This study suggests that such communication should acknowledge recipients’ psychological states, such as anxiety and distress, while introducing scientific hypotheses about the origin of the virus [ 27 ].…”

Global Interest in Telehealth During COVID-19 Pandemic: An Analysis of Google Trends™

“…Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly transmissible disease having a case fatality rate higher than one percent [1]. The existing healthcare systems and policies have been modifying to cope with the demands since the outbreak [1,2]. Digitization of the healthcare system can aid in the management of the pandemic, mitigating the disruption of societal systems [1].…”

“…Digitization of the healthcare system can aid in the management of the pandemic, mitigating the disruption of societal systems [1]. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized digital healthcare for having the potential to tackle this global threat and contribute to supporting the response towards the pandemic [2]. The current pandemic is distinctive from its predecessors in the number of individuals infected, transmission rates, and the range of clinical severity.…”

“…The current pandemic is distinctive from its predecessors in the number of individuals infected, transmission rates, and the range of clinical severity. It is the first pandemic to occur in the digital era with sophisticated, timely aged, and mature digital health solutions that can play a considerable role in the surveillance and management of this crisis [2]. Using real-time internet data is one way in this direction of using modern methods for disease surveillance.…”

The Need for a Global Network to Cope with Pandemics from Studies of the COVID Infection

“…By the same token, digital health solutions, based on telemedicine concepts, meet the challenges and ethical hurdles for long-term implementation of strategies to decrease the risk of infection and track disease progression. (3,4) A pragmatic solution to this problem is to build a global network that encompasses both biomedical and social networks for first responders, doctors, scientists, vaccine developers, governments, etc. Biological networks can, for example, determine the interaction between proteins.…”