Att föreställa sig en (digital) hälsoframtid : En Geomedia fallstudie omsociotekniska föreställningar och digital hälsolitteracitet i svensk regional- och EU riktlinjer

This case study examines how health imaginaries and digital health literacy (dHL) are imaginedand communicated in regional digital strategies and policy documents from six Swedish regions and two EU policy texts. It adopts a Geomedia perspective, specifically highlighting theinteraction between transmediatisation and mobility in these processes. Central to this study isthe concept of Digital Health Literacy (dHL), defined as the ability to use digital technology to find, evaluate, create, and communicate health information (van Kessel et al., 2022, p. 2). The aim of this thesis is to highlight how different actors at regional (Swedish) and Europeanlevels view the role of digitalisation and geomediatisation in healthcare, and to provide insights into how visions of health are potentially shaped by geographical, demographic, andsocioeconomic conditions. The theoretical framework is based on Sociotechnical Imaginaries (STIs) (Jasanoff & Kim, 2015, p. 4-5) to specifically explore notions of health, the ”active” and”co-creating” individuals, and their role in a digitalised healthcare environment. Health imaginaries viewed through a Geomedia perspective, proved to be a valuable tool for highlighting these often overlooked conceptions of future health imaginaries, the individual'srole, and the complex spatial/digital dimensions of navigating an everyday healthcare system.The similarities and complexities in visions across different levels suggests they are stronglyshaped by collectively held national and supranational impulses rather than solely by localconditions. The empirical data was analysed using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), based on Fairclough (2003; 2013) and Hoff (2023), as well as a comparative research design inspired by Przeworski & Teune (1970). Among the findings, the texts revealed notions of an "imagined user" expected to possess a certain level of digital competence and health literacy, driven by an underlying health imaginary of a ”unicorn user”. It also revealed ideas of digital optimism and a strong belief in the potential of digitalisation to increase accessibility, efficiency, and patient participation and visions of so-called ”phygital” healthcare spaces.