Beyond contact-tracing: The public value of eHealth application in a pandemic

Paolo Gerli, Emmanuel Ogiemwonyi Arakpogun*, Ziad Elsahn, Femi Olan, Karla Simone Prime

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study adopts a public value perspective to examine the eHealth services deployed by national and regional governments to contain the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, including symptoms checkers, information portals and contact-tracing applications. We analyse 50 cases of eHealth applications adopted in 25 European Economic Area (EEA) and outline how these systems and technologies map against four dimensions of public value: user orientation, participation, legality and equity. Our findings reveal that the public value of the eHealth applications adopted in the context of the current pandemic is affected by both endogenous and exogenous factors that undermine their ability to improve the quality of healthcare services and social wellbeing. We conclude by suggesting areas for further research to address such factors and the trade-offs emerging between different dimensions of public value.

Original languageEnglish
Article number101581
JournalGovernment Information Quarterly
Volume38
Issue number3
Early online date20 Mar 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2021

Keywords

  • Contact-tracing
  • Covid-19
  • eHealth applications
  • European Economic Area
  • Pandemic
  • Public value

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Sociology and Political Science
  • Library and Information Sciences
  • Law

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