IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i11p6053-d568819.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Integrating Digital Technologies and Public Health to Fight Covid-19 Pandemic: Key Technologies, Applications, Challenges and Outlook of Digital Healthcare

Author

Listed:
  • Qiang Wang

    (School of Economics and Management, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China)

  • Min Su

    (School of Economics and Management, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China)

  • Min Zhang

    (School of Economics and Management, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China)

  • Rongrong Li

    (School of Economics and Management, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China)

Abstract

Integration of digital technologies and public health (or digital healthcare) helps us to fight the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which is the biggest public health crisis humanity has faced since the 1918 Influenza Pandemic. In order to better understand the digital healthcare, this work conducted a systematic and comprehensive review of digital healthcare, with the purpose of helping us combat the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper covers the background information and research overview of digital healthcare, summarizes its applications and challenges in the COVID-19 pandemic, and finally puts forward the prospects of digital healthcare. First, main concepts, key development processes, and common application scenarios of integrating digital technologies and digital healthcare were offered in the part of background information. Second, the bibliometric techniques were used to analyze the research output, geographic distribution, discipline distribution, collaboration network, and hot topics of digital healthcare before and after COVID-19 pandemic. We found that the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly accelerated research on the integration of digital technologies and healthcare. Third, application cases of China, EU and U.S using digital technologies to fight the COVID-19 pandemic were collected and analyzed. Among these digital technologies, big data, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, 5G are most effective weapons to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Applications cases show that these technologies play an irreplaceable role in controlling the spread of the COVID-19. By comparing the application cases in these three regions, we contend that the key to China’s success in avoiding the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic is to integrate digital technologies and public health on a large scale without hesitation. Fourth, the application challenges of digital technologies in the public health field are summarized. These challenges mainly come from four aspects: data delays, data fragmentation, privacy security, and data security vulnerabilities. Finally, this study provides the future application prospects of digital healthcare. In addition, we also provide policy recommendations for other countries that use digital technology to combat COVID-19.

Suggested Citation

  • Qiang Wang & Min Su & Min Zhang & Rongrong Li, 2021. "Integrating Digital Technologies and Public Health to Fight Covid-19 Pandemic: Key Technologies, Applications, Challenges and Outlook of Digital Healthcare," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-50, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:11:p:6053-:d:568819
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/11/6053/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/11/6053/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yun Qiu & Xi Chen & Wei Shi, 2020. "Impacts of social and economic factors on the transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 33(4), pages 1127-1172, October.
    2. Bouchnita, Anass & Jebrane, Aissam, 2020. "A hybrid multi-scale model of COVID-19 transmission dynamics to assess the potential of non-pharmaceutical interventions," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    3. Mohammed A. A. Al-qaness & Ahmed A. Ewees & Hong Fan & Mohamed Abd Elaziz, 2020. "Optimized Forecasting Method for Weekly Influenza Confirmed Cases," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-12, May.
    4. Zeashan Hameed Khan & Afifa Siddique & Chang Won Lee, 2020. "Robotics Utilization for Healthcare Digitization in Global COVID-19 Management," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-21, May.
    5. Shengjie Lai & Nick W. Ruktanonchai & Liangcai Zhou & Olivia Prosper & Wei Luo & Jessica R. Floyd & Amy Wesolowski & Mauricio Santillana & Chi Zhang & Xiangjun Du & Hongjie Yu & Andrew J. Tatem, 2020. "Effect of non-pharmaceutical interventions to contain COVID-19 in China," Nature, Nature, vol. 585(7825), pages 410-413, September.
    6. Antonio Scarano & Francesco Inchingolo & Felice Lorusso, 2020. "Facial Skin Temperature and Discomfort When Wearing Protective Face Masks: Thermal Infrared Imaging Evaluation and Hands Moving the Mask," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-9, June.
    7. Kshetri, Nir, 2017. "Blockchain's roles in strengthening cybersecurity and protecting privacy," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(10), pages 1027-1038.
    8. Ghanbari, Behzad, 2020. "On forecasting the spread of the COVID-19 in Iran: The second wave," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    9. Martin Hilbert, 2016. "Big Data for Development: A Review of Promises and Challenges," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 34(1), pages 135-174, January.
    10. Balapour, Ali & Reychav, Iris & Sabherwal, Rajiv & Azuri, Joseph, 2019. "Mobile technology identity and self-efficacy: Implications for the adoption of clinically supported mobile health apps," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 58-68.
    11. Banta, H. David, 1990. "Future health care technology and the hospital," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 61-73.
    12. Zhu, Bangren & Zheng, Xinqi & Liu, Haiyan & Li, Jiayang & Wang, Peipei, 2020. "Analysis of spatiotemporal characteristics of big data on social media sentiment with COVID-19 epidemic topics," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    13. Joanne Brooke & Debra Jackson, 2020. "Older people and COVID‐19: Isolation, risk and ageism," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(13-14), pages 2044-2046, July.
    14. Wei Liu & Xiao-Guang Yue & Paul B. Tchounwou, 2020. "Response to the COVID-19 Epidemic: The Chinese Experience and Implications for Other Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-6, March.
    15. Jessica Morley & Josh Cowls & Mariarosaria Taddeo & Luciano Floridi, 2020. "Ethical guidelines for COVID-19 tracing apps," Nature, Nature, vol. 582(7810), pages 29-31, June.
    16. Go Jefferies, Josephine & Bishop, Simon & Hibbert, Sally, 2019. "Customer boundary work to navigate institutional arrangements around service interactions: Exploring the case of telehealth," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 420-433.
    17. Jayson S. Jia & Xin Lu & Yun Yuan & Ge Xu & Jianmin Jia & Nicholas A. Christakis, 2020. "Population flow drives spatio-temporal distribution of COVID-19 in China," Nature, Nature, vol. 582(7812), pages 389-394, June.
    18. Kaffash, Sepideh & Azizi, Roza & Huang, Ying & Zhu, Joe, 2020. "A survey of data envelopment analysis applications in the insurance industry 1993–2018," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 284(3), pages 801-813.
    19. Pinglin He & Hanlu Niu & Zhe Sun & Tao Li, 2020. "Accounting Index of COVID-19 Impact on Chinese Industries: A Case Study Using Big Data Portrait Analysis," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(10), pages 2332-2349, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Helga Rafael Henriques & Tiago Nascimento & Andreia Costa, 2023. "Nurses’ Experiences of Care in Portuguese Nursing Homes during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Focus Group Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(16), pages 1-17, August.
    2. Zixin (Jessie) Jin & Zongjie Wang, 2022. "Operational and Financial Impacts of Digital Health Technology: A Study on Canadian Healthcare System during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-10, November.
    3. Clarissa Lemmen & Dusan Simic & Stephanie Stock, 2021. "A Vision of Future Healthcare: Potential Opportunities and Risks of Systems Medicine from a Citizen and Patient Perspective—Results of a Qualitative Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-20, September.
    4. Jungsuk Kim & Gemma Estrada & Yothin Jinjarak & Donghyun Park & Shu Tian, 2022. "ICT and Economic Resilience during COVID-19: Cross-Country Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-19, November.
    5. Chia-Jung Lee & Yen Hsu, 2021. "Promoting the Quality of Life of Elderly during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-12, June.
    6. Sanying Peng & Fang Yuan & Ahmad Tajuddin Othman & Xiaogang Zhou & Gang Shen & Jinghong Liang, 2022. "The Effectiveness of E-Health Interventions Promoting Physical Activity and Reducing Sedentary Behavior in College Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-20, December.
    7. Keng Yang & Hanying Qi, 2022. "Research on Health Disparities Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Bibliometric Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-25, January.
    8. Min Su & Qiang Wang & Rongrong Li, 2021. "How to Dispose of Medical Waste Caused by COVID-19? A Case Study of China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-18, November.
    9. Fu, Shuke & Ge, Yingchen & Hao, Yu & Peng, Jiachao & Tian, Jiali, 2024. "Energy supply chain efficiency in the digital era: Evidence from China's listed companies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    10. Lin Cai & Zengsong Huang & Qiujin Feng & Xiaoming Chang & Kexin Yan, 2022. "Co-Transformation of Digital Health and eSport in Metaverse: Moderating Effects of Digital Personality on Mental Health in Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-17, December.
    11. Xue Min & Lei Shen & Xiangfang Ren, 2024. "The Role of Clothing Technology in Supporting Sustainable Fashion in the Post-COVID-19 Era," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-21, September.
    12. Elisa Mancinelli & Giulia Bassi & Silvia Gabrielli & Silvia Salcuni, 2022. "The Efficacy of Digital Cognitive–Behavioral Interventions in Supporting the Psychological Adjustment and Sleep Quality of Pregnant Women with Sub-Clinical Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-18, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tianyi Li & Jiawen Luo & Cunrui Huang, 2021. "Urban Epidemic Hazard Index for Chinese Cities: Why Did Small Cities Become Epidemic Hotspots?," Papers 2103.05189, arXiv.org.
    2. Wang, Peipei & Liu, Haiyan & Zheng, Xinqi & Ma, Ruifang, 2023. "A new method for spatio-temporal transmission prediction of COVID-19," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    3. Keyang Li & Yu Qin & Jing Wu & Jubo Yan, 2023. "Perceived economic prospects during the early stage of COVID‐19 breakout," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 41(4), pages 696-713, October.
    4. Chen, Xi & Qiu, Yun & Shi, Wei & Yu, Pei, 2022. "Key links in network interactions: Assessing route-specific travel restrictions in China during the Covid-19 pandemic," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    5. Xiaoyan Mu & Anthony Gar-On Yeh & Xiaohu Zhang, 2021. "The interplay of spatial spread of COVID-19 and human mobility in the urban system of China during the Chinese New Year," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 48(7), pages 1955-1971, September.
    6. Yizhen Zhang & Zhen Deng & Agus Supriyadi & Rui Song & Tao Wang, 2022. "Spatiotemporal spread characteristics and influencing factors of COVID‐19 cases: Based on big data of population migration in China," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(4), pages 1694-1715, December.
    7. Jingxuan Liu & Ping Qiao & Jian Ding & Luke Hankinson & Elodie H. Harriman & Edward M. Schiller & Ieva Ramanauskaite & Haowei Zhang, 2020. "Will the Aviation Industry Have a Bright Future after the COVID-19 Outbreak? Evidence from Chinese Airport Shipping Sector," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-14, November.
    8. Feng Wang & Xing Ge & Danwen Huang, 2022. "Government Intervention, Human Mobility, and COVID-19: A Causal Pathway Analysis from 121 Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-26, March.
    9. Meng, Xin & Guo, Mingxue & Gao, Ziyou & Yang, Zhenzhen & Yuan, Zhilu & Kang, Liujiang, 2022. "The effects of Wuhan highway lockdown measures on the spread of COVID-19 in China," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 169-180.
    10. Ye, Maoxin & Lyu, Zeyu, 2020. "Trust, risk perception, and COVID-19 infections: Evidence from multilevel analyses of combined original dataset in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    11. Simin Zou & Xuhui He, 2021. "Effect of Train-Induced Wind on the Transmission of COVID-19: A New Insight into Potential Infectious Risks," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-17, August.
    12. Fang, Hanming & Wang, Long & Yang, Yang, 2020. "Human mobility restrictions and the spread of the Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in China," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    13. Zhang, Dandan & Luo, Chuliang & Zi, Yiran, 2024. "Teleworkability and its heterogeneity in labor market shock," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    14. Shi, Wei & Qiu, Yun & Yu, Pei & Chen, Xi, 2022. "Optimal Travel Restrictions in Epidemics," IZA Discussion Papers 15290, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Zijing Ye & Ruisi Li & Jing Wu, 2022. "Dynamic Demand Evaluation of COVID-19 Medical Facilities in Wuhan Based on Public Sentiment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-22, June.
    16. Meng, Xin & Guo, Mingxue & Gao, Ziyou & Kang, Liujiang, 2023. "Interaction between travel restriction policies and the spread of COVID-19," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 209-227.
    17. Liu, Ning & Chen, Zhuo & Bao, Guoxian, 2021. "Role of media coverage in mitigating COVID-19 transmission: Evidence from China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    18. Boto-García, David, 2023. "Investigating the two-way relationship between mobility flows and COVID-19 cases," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    19. Bo Huang & Jionghua Wang & Jixuan Cai & Shiqi Yao & Paul Kay Sheung Chan & Tony Hong-wing Tam & Ying-Yi Hong & Corrine W. Ruktanonchai & Alessandra Carioli & Jessica R. Floyd & Nick W. Ruktanonchai & , 2021. "Integrated vaccination and physical distancing interventions to prevent future COVID-19 waves in Chinese cities," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 5(6), pages 695-705, June.
    20. Fang, Guanfu & Tang, Tianyu & Zhao, Fang & Zhu, Ying, 2023. "The social scar of the pandemic: Impacts of COVID-19 exposure on interpersonal trust," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:11:p:6053-:d:568819. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.