Digital inclusion challenges: Design

Digital inclusion is foundational across Digital Health and Care and is critical to the design and development of digital services, resources and wider digital transformation across health and social care. The Digital inclusion programme formally launched in March 2023 with a focus on mental health and housing. The programme aims to identify model(s) of best practice digital inclusion in mental health and in housing and contribute learning towards wider embedding of digital inclusion practices across wider health and care services and supports. Led by Digital Health and Care, in partnership with SCVO and Connecting Scotland, the programme has established a framework for digital inclusion in health and social care (Digital Inclusion: Digital Pillars | TEC Scotland) and is enabling testing and implementation of digital inclusion across different areas of mental health and housing in Scotland through funded projects (Digital Pioneers | TEC Scotland). In addition to supporting people to be digitally included, the programme is also focusing on building capacity for digital inclusion across the workforce through the co-design of digital champion training tailored to mental health and to housing, and also by supporting the co-production of a digital inclusion practice guide to support frontline staff working across different areas of the health and social care system.