J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2023;34(1):425-430. doi: 10.1353/hpu.2023.0027.
Health professionals are increasingly using digital technology as a strategy to maximize community engagement and effectively implement health interventions, a phenomenon evidenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. While technology has improved health information dissemination, communication, and data management, it cannot replace the human-based interactions offered by traditional grassroots outreach that can influence long-term health behavior change, particularly for underserved communities. Digital community engagement can be part of the digital divide, often widening disparities by excluding those without access or limited access to technology. It may hinder the accurate collection of contextual and comprehensive data needed to analyze social determinants of health, thereby widening the equity gap. This commentary explores the challenges of using digital technology and justifies leveraging it to complement traditional community engagement rather than as a replacement.
健康专业人员越来越多地将数字技术作为一种策略，以最大限度地提高社区参与度，并有效地实施健康干预措施，这一现象在 COVID-19 大流行中得到了证明。虽然技术提高了健康信息的传播、沟通和数据管理，但它不能替代传统基层外展所提供的基于人的互动，而传统基层外展可以影响长期的健康行为改变，特别是对服务不足的社区。数字社区参与可能是数字鸿沟的一部分，它经常通过排除那些无法获得或有限获得技术的人来扩大差距。它可能会阻碍准确收集分析健康社会决定因素所需的背景和全面数据，从而扩大公平差距。本评论探讨了使用数字技术的挑战，并证明了利用数字技术来补充传统社区参与的合理性，而不是替代它。
