Technological innovations to tackle health inequalities in cancer care

People affected by cancer or at risk of cancer must be able to access health information and/or healthcare services in an equitable manner to bring about a timely response. Cancer health disparities are evident in many forms, including limited access to quality healthcare, education, and socioeconomic opportunities. Much progress has been made in identifying patient-, provider-, and health service-level technological innovations to reduce cancer health disparities. This chapter offers examples of technological innovations that specifically target cancer health disparities and disadvantaged populations at risk of cancer or affected by cancer. The challenge of implementation and dissemination remains for most of these initiatives. Innovative technology can help tackle barriers to provide scalable solutions that can benefit people, providers, systems and countries. However, increased adoption of technological innovation without consideration for historically underserved populations may exacerbate existing disparities. Where cancer health disparities are most pronounced, technological innovation must be strategically developed and implemented to target the inequities themselves or their precipitating or perpetuating causes. Bold and strategic initiatives from government bodies and large telecommunications companies will be required to enable equitable, long-term technological solutions for population groups at risk of cancer health disparities.