In areas where mobile phones become more common, people left behind have more difficulty accessing healthcare services, said the study titled “The struggle for digital inclusion: phone, healthcare, and marginalisation in rural India”. Haenessgen said: “Because of their fast spread globally, mobile phones are often seen as a blessing for development, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Haenssgen said: “This study uses only crude measures of healthcare access and mobile phone use, so this certainly is not the end of the story. But the findings add to a consistent picture of mobile phone use and healthcare access that has emerged over the past five years of research. “While there is no reason to demonise mobile phones, we see again and again that their spread comes with problems as well as opportunities.

Source: Hindustan Times January 23, 2018 10:41 UTC