Unravelling Embedded Biases by Embracing Digital Healthcare: Insights into Healthcare Biases in Ghana

Healthcare biases are a serious issue in modern healthcare. This research investigates the contextual challenges, i.e., biases related to race, socioeconomic status, and cultural identity that influence the adoption of digital health and its effectiveness in promoting equitable health outcomes. In countries of low resources, Ghana included, digital health solutions look promising for addressing systemic biases in healthcare. These biases have been shown to harm patient outcomes. Our paper presents empirical findings derived through semi-structured interviews with twenty patients in Ghana, unravelling healthcare biases and their relation to digital health. Our findings, as per the experiences of the participants, suggest that digital health solutions can alleviate barriers to quality care, streamline the delivery of service, as well as support patient-provider interactions devoid of bias. The main contribution of the paper is an illustration of making covert biases overt and radicalizing them in the design of digital health solutions to reduce healthcare biases in healthcare delivery. Keywords Healthcare, Healthcare bias, digital health, information systems, qualitative research.