The Impact of Digital Transformation on Public Health: Strategic Insights from a SWOT Analysis

Year 2026, Volume: 3 Issue: 1, 9 - 30, 31.01.2026

Seval Çalışkan Pala

Abstract

This review applies a comprehensive SWOT analysis to assess the impact of digital transformation on public health. Digital transformation has become inevitable, reshaping public health by improving assessment, policy development, resource allocation and access through expanded service coverage, enhanced information resources, big data analytics and more effective data-driven surveillance systems. It has also supported healthier lifestyle behaviours via digital health interventions and improved efficiency, cost-effectiveness and workflows, enabling targeted digital interventions for specific populations. However, digital transformation can widen inequalities in the social determinants of health, revealing weaknesses such as infrastructure gaps, limited system integration, insufficient human resources and training, financial constraints and limited understanding of real-world digital behaviour. Opportunities arise from global collaboration, patient-centred design, political and regulatory support, improved workflows, real-time feedback, addressing language and distance barriers and early identification of emerging issues. Key threats include data security and privacy risks, ethical and regulatory gaps, algorithmic errors, misinformation, bias, cyberchondria, financial sustainability challenges, representativeness issues in digital data, reduced human interaction, empathy bias, inappropriate recommendations and biases in research funding and publication. Addressing these challenges is essential to fully realise the potential of digital transformation in advancing public health.

Keywords

digital transformation , public health , SWOT , digitalization , health promotion

Ethical Statement

An ethics committee report is not required.

Supporting Institution

None.

Thanks

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