Bridging the digital divide: Understanding COVID-19 diagnostic and vaccination experiences in a socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhood in Sweden
Abstract 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 p...
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BMC
2025-07-01
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| Series: | BMC Health Services Research |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-025-13033-9 |
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| author | Rathi Ramji Dipak Surie Stefan Cirovic Margareta Rämgård Sergey Shleev Anders Kottorp |
| author_facet | Rathi Ramji Dipak Surie Stefan Cirovic Margareta Rämgård Sergey Shleev Anders Kottorp |
| author_sort | Rathi Ramji |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract 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. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-93670b5ad4864c90bf3f2ee619bbe81c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1472-6963 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Health Services Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-93670b5ad4864c90bf3f2ee619bbe81c2025-08-20T04:01:25ZengBMCBMC Health Services Research1472-69632025-07-0125111110.1186/s12913-025-13033-9Bridging the digital divide: Understanding COVID-19 diagnostic and vaccination experiences in a socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhood in SwedenRathi Ramji0Dipak Surie1Stefan Cirovic2Margareta Rämgård3Sergey Shleev4Anders Kottorp5Department of Care Science, Health and Society, Malmö UniversityCitizen Health Research Center, Malmö UniversityDepartment of Biomedical Science, Health and Society, Malmö UniversityDepartment of Care Science, Health and Society, Malmö UniversityCitizen Health Research Center, Malmö UniversityDepartment of Care Science, Health and Society, Malmö UniversityAbstract 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.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-025-13033-9COVID-19Commercially available kitNew technologyUser perspectiveSocioeconomically disadvantaged communityHealth promoter |
| spellingShingle | Rathi Ramji Dipak Surie Stefan Cirovic Margareta Rämgård Sergey Shleev Anders Kottorp Bridging the digital divide: Understanding COVID-19 diagnostic and vaccination experiences in a socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhood in Sweden BMC Health Services Research COVID-19 Commercially available kit New technology User perspective Socioeconomically disadvantaged community Health promoter |
| title | Bridging the digital divide: Understanding COVID-19 diagnostic and vaccination experiences in a socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhood in Sweden |
| title_full | Bridging the digital divide: Understanding COVID-19 diagnostic and vaccination experiences in a socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhood in Sweden |
| title_fullStr | Bridging the digital divide: Understanding COVID-19 diagnostic and vaccination experiences in a socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhood in Sweden |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bridging the digital divide: Understanding COVID-19 diagnostic and vaccination experiences in a socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhood in Sweden |
| title_short | Bridging the digital divide: Understanding COVID-19 diagnostic and vaccination experiences in a socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhood in Sweden |
| title_sort | bridging the digital divide understanding covid 19 diagnostic and vaccination experiences in a socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhood in sweden |
| topic | COVID-19 Commercially available kit New technology User perspective Socioeconomically disadvantaged community Health promoter |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-025-13033-9 |
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