Women and eHealth 2010 – 2015: From the Study to the Women Observatory for eHealth

Abstract

Improving access to information and communication technologies (ICT) and making these services affordable to all are prerequisites to their efficient and sustainable use in healthcare and eHealth. Women worldwide still face barriers that keep them away from innovation and limit their taking full advantage of eHealth and telemedicine. To help address these barriers, Millennia2015, an initiative of the Destree Institute, conducted the Women and eHealth Study 2010 – 2012 (WeHealth) to identify barriers and trends in the emerging arena of Women, Health and ICT. The study proposed a set of solutions to the identified barriers, including a mapping of Women’s involvement in eHealth. Forging ahead on the Study's proposals, the new Millennia2025 Foundation “Women and Innovation”, a Public Utility Foundation, and its partners, have developed Action Plans to ensure the full participation of women in eHealth and telemedicine. These Plans include diverse initiatives, such as the WeObservatory, which provides support to 15 WeHealth projects in 11 countries, WeTelemed, WeBlog, WeMOOCs, WePatients, WeLibrary, and two mobile multilingual applications: UniversalNurses and UniversalWomen, available in six languages. Improving the role of women in eHealth requires commitment and effort, and the Millennia2025 Foundation is committed to accelerating women's access to innovation and technologies for health around the world.