Digital Health Inclusion and Inequalities

The Public Health Research (PHR) Programme is interested in funding research on digital health inclusion and health inequalities particularly in the areas that have been highlighted in the scoping review as lacking in evidence. The PHR Programme is primarily interested in receiving applications for evaluations of interventions that take a whole community or population-level approach.

The PHR Programme is not interested in receiving applications which evaluate the effectiveness of apps.

Research areas of interest include (but are not limited to):

  • Research into digital health inclusion strategies, the efficacy of these approaches and the link to health outcomes for individuals, for communities and between population sub-groups.
  • Research on the potential impact that the increasing use of digital technology is having on health inequalities.
  • Studies that address the relationship between digital technology, its use, its non-use, and the outcomes amongst different population groups. This can include comparative approaches that look at the impact on different groups in terms of the levels of digital exclusion and data poverty and health outcomes.
  • Studies that take a local or a regional approach and account for geographical differences.
  • Research exploring the use of emerging technologies like wearables for health purposes and the impact on health inequalities.

In order to apply you will need to review the following: Commissioning Brief, Stage 1 Guidance Notes and PHR Supporting Information, all of which is supplied in the link below.


Competition closes: 5 April 2022, 13:00