The Need to Examine Culture in Health Technology

Culture influences how healthcare is received, what is considered to be a health problem, how symptoms are expressed, who should provide treatment, and what type of treatment should be provided. Culturally-informed health technology can result in higher adoption rates and can mitigate access barriers facing culturally diverse populations. Unfortunately, culture is not often considered in the design of health technology. Three design considerations are suggested as high-level guidelines for the development of culturally-informed health technology. First, designers should conduct formative research, which includes methods such as focus groups, interviews with key informants, surveys, and field notes, in the early phases of design. Second, health technology designers should choose an appropriate type of technology for the intended population. Third, designers should consider culture when deciding how to present the information. For instance, the information should be presented in the correct language, at the correct educational level, and by someone of a similar culture to the end user. A model is presented to illustrate a potential process of designing culturally-informed health Information Technology. Future research should investigate potential relationships, health consumer culture, and design needs.