Digital health services in Bangladesh—The need for a sustainable design framework

• Published date: 01 December 2023
• Author: Arnob Zahid,Uday N. Yadav,Sabuj K. Mistry
• Date: 01 December 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/wmh3.580

Received: 10 February 2023

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Revised: 1 June 2023

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Accepted: 2 June 2023

DOI: 10.1002/wmh3.580

COMMENTARY

Digital health services in Bangladesh—The

need for a sustainable design framework

Arnob Zahid

1

|Uday N. Yadav

2

|Sabuj K. Mistry

3

1

Waikato Management School, University of

Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

2

ANU College of Health and Medicine,

Australian National University, Canberra,

Australia

3

School of Population Health, University of

New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

Correspondence

Arnob Zahid, Waikato Management School,

University of Waikato, Hamilton, New

Zealand.

Email: azahid@waikato.ac.nz

Abstract

Bangladesh received the United Nations Award for

DigitalHealth Development in 2011. Inspired by the

recognition, the country has launched several digital

health initiatives over the last decade. However, despite

achievements in expanding information and communica-

tion technologies, recent studies show that current digital

health services are difficult to use, fail to meet userneeds,

are subject to threats in data privacy and security, lack a

robust digital infrastructure, and do not benefitfroma

cohesive policy and regulatory environment. As the

country currently deals with the post‐COVID‐19 conse-

quences, it is high time for its healthcare policymakers to

address these challenges and take the necessary actions

to establish a people‐centered framework for digital

health servicedesign and operations. In this commentary,

we proposed a design framework for digital health

services that address these ongoing challenges in the

digital health services of Bangladesh. We believe the

proposed framework stands to help Bangladesh and

other coutnries attain sustainability.

KEYWORDS

digital health, patient‐centric framework, policy design, sustainability

Key Points

•Most digital health services in Bangladesh lack

usability, user‐centricity, data privacy and security,

digital infrastructure, technical and resource expertise,

digital literacy, motivation, and trust of all healthcare

stakeholders.

•It is time for Bangladesh's health policymakers to

address the ongoing challenges that demand a

World Med. & Health Policy. 2023;15:682–695.682

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wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/wmh3

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© 2023 The Authors. World Medical & Health Policy published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Policy Studies Organization.