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Bridging the digital divide: Understanding COVID-19 diagnostic and vaccination experiences in a socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhood in Sweden
Malmö University, Faculty of Health and Society (HS), Department of Care Science (VV). Malmö University, Citizen Health (CzH).ORCID iD: 0000-0003-4603-9974
Malmö University, Citizen Health (CzH). Malmö University, Faculty of Technology and Society (TS), Department of Computer Science and Media Technology (DVMT).
Malmö University, Faculty of Health and Society (HS), Department of Biomedical Science (BMV).ORCID iD: 0000-0002-8133-3573
Malmö University, Faculty of Health and Society (HS), Department of Care Science (VV). Malmö University, Citizen Health (CzH).ORCID iD: 0000-0003-1235-620X
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2025 (English)In: BMC Health Services Research, E-ISSN 1472-6963, Vol. 25, no 1, article id 870Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the public health and the economy of the Swedish population, with disproportionate effects on communities living in socioeconomically diverse neighborhoods. To mitigate these impacts and enhance outreach, COVID-19 diagnostic and prevention services supported by digital health tools were introduced for early diagnosis and prevention. Assessing the perceptions related to utilization of these efforts is essential to ensure they are benefiting the particular populations living in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Therefore, the aim of this study was to demonstrate available COVID-19 diagnostic tools and explore the implementation of COVID-19 diagnostics and the digital support services from the experiences of lay health promoters (LHPs) in a socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhood in Malmö. Method: Five LHPs participated in an online focus group via Zoom, in May 2021. The session began with an online presentation of testing procedures, followed by discussion to gather user perspectives. The data was analyzed using the Rapid Identification of Themes from Audio recordings method. Results: Health promoters reported a lack of trust in existing COVID self-test procedures due to validity issues and frequent false-negative results. Polymerase chain reaction testing procedures were deemed inadequate because of delays in receiving results. Additionally, the neighborhood faced barriers to vaccination access, including challenges in using digital technology to book test and vaccination, distance to vaccination centers, and unavailability of slots. Conclusion: This study highlights the need for affordable and easy-to-use COVID-19 test alternatives in these neighborhoods. The implementation of digital healthcare solutions during the pandemic faced significant challenges, limiting access to care and support in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Therefore, implementing digital healthcare initiatives for disease diagnosis and prevention at the national level requires strategic planning that considers the needs and capabilities of residents in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. Furthermore, the importance of increasing targeted vaccination centers and educating community representatives, such as health promoters, to better support their communities during crises, was emphasized.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
BioMed Central (BMC), 2025. Vol. 25, no 1, article id 870
Keywords [en]
Commercially available kit, COVID-19, Health promoter, New technology, Socioeconomically disadvantaged community, User perspective
National Category
Public Health, Global Health and Social Medicine
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-78794DOI: 10.1186/s12913-025-13033-9ISI: 001521256300002PubMedID: 40598395Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105009543102OAI: oai:DiVA.org:mau-78794DiVA, id: diva2:1988194
Available from: 2025-08-11 Created: 2025-08-11 Last updated: 2025-08-13Bibliographically approved

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Ramji, RathiSurie, DipakCirovic, StefanRämgård, MargaretaShleev, SergeyKottorp, Anders

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Ramji, RathiSurie, DipakCirovic, StefanRämgård, MargaretaShleev, SergeyKottorp, Anders
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Department of Care Science (VV)Citizen Health (CzH)Department of Computer Science and Media Technology (DVMT)Department of Biomedical Science (BMV)
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