ACCESS TO HEALTH INFORMATION AND SUPPORT - A PUBLIC HIGHWAY OR A PRIVATE ROAD

Information and communication technologies may help reduce health disp arities through their potential for promoting health, preventing disea se, and supporting clinical care for all. Unfortunately, those who hav e preventable health problems and lack health insurance coverage are t he least likely to have access to such technologies. Barriers to acces s include cost, geographic location, illiteracy, disability, and facto rs related to the capacity of people to use these technologies appropr iately and effectively. A goal of universal access to health informati on and support is proposed to augment existing initiatives to improve the health of individuals and the public. Both public- and private-sec tor stakeholders, particularly government agencies and private corpora tions, will need to collaboratively reduce the gap between the health information ''haves'' and ''have-nots, This will include supporting he alth information technology access in homes and public places, develop ing applications for the growing diversity of users, funding research on access-related issues, ensuring the quality of health information a nd support, enhancing literacy in health and technology, training heal th information intermediaries, and integrating the concept of universa l access to health information and support into health planning proces ses.