Institutionalizing human-computer interaction for global health

Digitalization is the societal change process in which new ICT-based solutions bring forward completely new ways of doing things, new businesses and new movements in the society. Digitalization also provides completely new ways of addressing issues related to global health. This paper provides an overview of the field of human-computer interaction (HCI) and in what way the field has contributed to international development in different regions of the world. Additionally, it outlines the United Nations’ new sustainability goals from December 2015 and what these could contribute to the development of global health and its relationship to digitalization. Finally, it argues why and how HCI could be adopted and adapted to fit the contextual needs, the need for localization and for the development of new digital innovations. The research methodology is mostly qualitative following an action research paradigm in which the actual change process that the digitalization is evoking is equally important as the scientific conclusions that can be drawn. In conclusion, the paper argues that digitalization is fundamentally changing the society through the development and use of digital technologies and may have a profound effect on the digital development of every country in the world. But it needs to be developed based on local practices, it needs international support and to not be limited by any technological constraints. Particularly digitalization to support global health requires a profound understanding of the users and their context, arguing for user-centred systems design methodologies as particularly suitable.