Digital technologies are now an important part of how people access health information and services in Australia. From searching for health information online to booking appointments, accessing telehealth and using health apps, digital tools increasingly shape how people understand and manage their health.
But digital health is not equally accessible to everyone. For migrant and refugee women, digital access and health literacy can be shaped by intersecting factors including age, education, income, English language proficiency, migration and displacement experiences, geographic location and access to devices and reliable internet.
The Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health (MCWH) commissioned a literature review to examine how migrant and refugee women use digital technologies to access health information in Australia, and to identify key barriers to digital health equity.
The review found that migrant and refugee women use a range of digital technologies to access health information, including search engines, social media, forums, YouTube, health websites, telehealth and mobile health apps. However, the available research is limited and does not adequately capture the diverse experiences of migrant and refugee women across Australia.
The literature identified several barriers to digital health access, including:
- Cost and affordability: Financial stress can make it difficult to afford devices, internet and mobile data, as well as repairs, software and app subscriptions.
- Access to devices and reliable internet: Many women, particularly those on lower incomes, rely on mobile-only internet, shared devices or public computers, which can limit functionality, privacy and access.
- Language and literacy: Health, digital and English language literacy can all affect women’s ability to find, understand and use health information online.
- Culturally and linguistically appropriate information: Health websites and digital services are not always designed to be accessible, relevant or available in the languages women use.
- Trust, privacy and safety: Concerns about misinformation, data security, privacy and technology-facilitated abuse can influence whether women feel safe using digital health technologies.
- Gender, age and migration experiences: Caring responsibilities, gendered expectations, disrupted education and experiences of migration or displacement can shape women’s opportunities to access and develop digital skills.
These barriers do not exist separately. They can accumulate and interact, shaping women’s access to, confidence in and ability to benefit from digital health.
The review also identified approaches that can support more equitable digital health, including:
- designing health information that is culturally responsive, accessible and available in multiple formats
- involving migrant and refugee communities in the design and development of digital health resources
- using participatory approaches such as co-design, peer researchers and Community Health Workers
- providing supportive learning environments and practical digital facilitation.
Importantly, the review found that there is still limited research specifically examining migrant and refugee women’s digital health experiences in Australia. Significant gaps remain in understanding the experiences of groups including women with disabilities, women living in regional and remote areas, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants, and LGBTQI+ communities.
As Australia’s health system becomes increasingly digital, digital health equity must be treated as a health equity issue. Digital health systems and resources need to be designed with, rather than simply for, migrant and refugee communities.
Read the full literature review to learn more about migrant and refugee women’s experiences of accessing health information online, the barriers they face, and what can be done to create more inclusive digital health systems.