This appeared last week.
‘I’d like to think you could trust the government, but I don’t really think we can’: Australian women’s attitudes to and experiences of My Health Record
First Published April 29, 2019 Research Article
Abstract
The Australian government’s Australian Digital Health Agency is working towards its goal of enrolling every Australian in My Health Record, its national electronic health record system. This article reports findings from a qualitative project involving interviews and focus groups with Australian women about their use of digital health across the range of technologies available to them, including their attitudes to and experiences of My Health Record. A feminist new materialism perspective informed the project, working to surface the affordances, affective forces and relational connections that contributed to the opening up or closing off potential agential capacities when people come together with digitised systems such as My Health Record. These findings demonstrate that people’s personal experiences and feelings, the actions of others such as the agencies responsible for system implementation and function, their healthcare providers and broader social, cultural, technological and political factors are important in shaping their knowledge, interest in and acceptance of an electronic health record system. Even among this group of participants, who were experienced and active in finding and engaging with health information online, uncertainty and a lack of awareness of and interest in My Health Record were evident among many. Affordances such as technical difficulties were major barriers to enrolling and using the system successfully. No participants had yet found any benefit or use for it. Affective forces such as lack of trust and faith in the Australian government’s general technological expertise and concerns about data privacy and security were also key in many participants’ accounts.
Keywords Australia, digital health, digital sociology, electronic patient records, feminist new materialism, My Health Record, women
Here is the link to the Abstract and the full – freely available – article. The article also has a pretty useful list of references and a discussion of the history of the My Health Record Program.
The article is a great read to hear the voices of 40-50 who have spoken regarding their experiences with it. Well worth a download and read I believe.
The last two paragraphs of the Abstract really say a great deal!
I think it is fair to say the ADHA has not even begun to justify what it is doing at this point,
David.
You have to wonder how much negative impact this will have with the National Children's Digital Health Collaborative which is ADHA in sheep’s clothing. A fine concept but is showing signs of certain people’s involvement.
ReplyDelete'No participants had yet found any benefit or use for it.'
ReplyDeleteThe latest round of marketing seems to be targeting this area. As you posted earlier in the week David, "An expensively produced video fantasy on the value of the #myHR from the ADHA."
There will be a belief and a shift in the narrative that now Australians have *embraced the MyHR we must now focus attention on how to use the system to reach the potential benefit claims.
*I do not believe conscripting people into a system warrant embracing but I am sure this is how it will be spun.
@5:12 PM. Agree this Collaborative needs closer inspection, the 4 strategic goals they have are significant and will in some cases require setting on national standards. It also looks like they want to build systems and apps. Surely the Governments are not going to create barriers to commercial app developers?