Barriers to equal access to eHealth in Stockholm   : A qualitative study

Abstract: The aim behind this study was to observe and understand barriers to access the eHealth system equally. The study was conducted in Stockholm based on qualitative data in which semi- structured interviews were conducted among 15 interviewees from different localities of Stockholm. The findings from the collected data revealed that language barriers, lack of knowledge about digital literacy, unawareness of Swedish healthcare services, psychological and social barriers, safety and privacy concerns, and the lack of an e-identification are all major barriers to accessing the eHealth system. From the data, it has also been observed that the main causes of the aforementioned hurdles are based on varied socioeconomic levels, literacy conditions of an individual, cultural background, and age. Another important observation shows that highly qualified people with limited language abilities have a difficult time using eHealth services.  Keywords  Ehealth, Covid-19, nudge approach, digital literacy, linguistic skills, Bank ID, 1177.se, Alltid öppet.