Thesis Title:
Advancing the implementation of digital health interventions to build climate-resilient health systems in Small Island Developing State
Thesis Abstract:
Implementing national digital health interventions presents countries with opportunities to strengthen health systems by improving access to services, enhancing continuity of care, and addressing health inequalities. These benefits are particularly critical for Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which face specific challenges such as remote geographies, climate vulnerabilities, limited institutional capacity, and scarce financial resources – factors that hinder the resilience of health systems. Despite increasing digital health efforts at the national level, the capacity and capability of the digital infrastructure in SIDS to support resilient health systems, particularly in response to climate-related events, remains uneven and under-examined, and global implementation frameworks often lack relevance for these contexts.
This study aims to explore the capability of digital health infrastructure in SIDS to support climate-resilient health systems. It will examine the enablers and barriers to the integration of climate-related resilience into digital health systems, particularly through multi-hazard systems. A mixed-methods approach will be employed, beginning with an enhanced scoping review explicitly designed to support participatory engagement. The research will provide evidence-informed guidance for strengthening the resilience of health systems in SIDS through digital health interventions, and its findings are intended to support context-sensitive policy and implementation interventions that enhance health system resilience and equity.
Primary Supervisor:
Prof Seeromanie Harding