Observational cross-sectional study of the association of poor broadband provision with demographic and health outcomes: the Wolverhampton Digital ENablement (WODEN) programme

Philp, Fraser; Faux-Nightingale, Alice; Bateman, James; Clark, Heather; Johnson, Oliver; Klaire, Vijay; Nevill, Alan; Parry, Emma; Warren, Kate; Pandyan, Anand; M Singh, Baldev

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The association between impaired digital provision, access and health outcomes has not been systematically studied. The Wolverhampton Digital ENablement programme (WODEN) is a multiagency collaborative approach to determine and address digital factors that may impact on health and social care in a single deprived multiethnic health economy. The objective of this study is to determine the association between measurable broadband provision and demographic and health outcomes in a defined population.

DESIGN: An observational cross-sectional whole local population-level study with cohorts defined according to broadband provision.

SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Data for all residents of the City of Wolverhampton, totalling 269?785 residents.

PRIMARY OUTCOMES: Poor broadband provision is associated with variation in demographics and with increased comorbidity and urgent care needs.

RESULTS: Broadband provision was measured using the Broadband Infrastructure Index (BII) in 158 City localities housing a total of 269?785 residents. Lower broadband provision as determined by BII was associated with younger age (p<0.001), white ethnic status (p<0.001), lesser deprivation as measured by Index of Multiple Deprivation (p<0.001), a higher number of health comorbidities (p<0.001) and more non-elective urgent events over 12 months (p<0.001).

CONCLUSION: Local municipal and health authorities are advised to consider the variations in broadband provision within their locality and determine equal distribution both on a geographical basis but also against demographic, health and social data to determine equitable distribution as a platform for equitable access to digital resources for their residents.

Citation

Philp, F., Faux-Nightingale, A., Bateman, J., Clark, H., Johnson, O., Klaire, V., …M Singh, B. (2022). Observational cross-sectional study of the association of poor broadband provision with demographic and health outcomes: the Wolverhampton Digital ENablement (WODEN) programme. BMJ Open, 12(11), Article e065709. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-065709

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 15, 2022
• Publication Date: Nov 1, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: May 30, 2023
• Journal: BMJ Open
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 12
• Issue: 11
• Article Number: e065709
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-065709
• Keywords: epidemiology; COVID-19; general medicine (see internal medicine); health services administration & management; health policy; organisational development
• Publisher URL: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/11/e065709
• Additional Information: © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/; This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.