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Digital exclusion and health

Being offline is not simply inconvenient — it has documented consequences for physical and mental health. As public services, healthcare booking, and social connection move online, digital exclusion increasingly determines health outcomes.

"People with poor health and living with a disability, older people, migrants and those with a lower socioeconomic status are struggling the most in accessing digital health tools."

WHO Europe, March 2026

The World Health Organisation passed a formal resolution in 2018 urging member states to ensure digital health tools reach the most vulnerable — framing digital access as a condition of equitable healthcare, not an optional extra. The NHS Confederation has found that 2.4 million UK households struggle to afford mobile contracts and around 8 million people lack the skills to make meaningful use of online services — with 77% of the digitally excluded being over 65 and 69% living with a disability or impairment.

2.4m UK households struggle to afford mobile contracts (NHS Confederation)
77% of the digitally excluded are over 65 (NHS Confederation)
69% of the digitally excluded live with a disability or impairment

Loneliness and isolation

A 2025 study drawing on 87,256 observations across China, the US, and the UK found a consistent association between digital exclusion and loneliness in older adults. Social isolation driven by digital exclusion carries health risks comparable to smoking and obesity in terms of mortality — an assessment from the National Academies of Sciences, based on approximately one in four community-dwelling Americans aged 65 and over being socially isolated.

What COVID-19 showed us

The pandemic made the health consequences of digital exclusion visible and measurable. US research found that counties with higher rates of digital exclusion experienced higher COVID-19 case rates, death rates, and lower vaccination take-up — because vaccine booking, public health information, and access to virtual care all required internet access that many did not have.

In the UK, working-class students were roughly half as likely as middle-class students to access live or recorded lessons during school closures. Mental health worsening among those without computer access was "greatly pronounced" compared to those who had it — a finding that holds across age groups.

NHS services going digital

In Scotland and across the UK, NHS services are increasingly delivered online or via apps — appointment booking, test results, repeat prescription requests, mental health self-referral, and telehealth consultations. Each shift online that is not accompanied by a non-digital alternative means that people without reliable internet access receive a lower standard of care. This is not an abstract future risk: it is the current experience of millions of people.

"Digital exclusion is not a second-order problem. For millions of people it is a health problem, a care problem, and a rights problem."

WIRES campaign position

Sources current as of mid-2025. If a link breaks or a study is updated, let us know.

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