Today I figured out, all by myself how to use a background screen that someone sent me for a Zoom
meeting and how to set it up for the presentation we are working on together. I can hear some of you
snickering. In your estimation, this is no big deal. A 10-year-old child could do that, right? Well, dinosaur
that I am, it was an achievement for me! I have learned a lot of technology related skills in the past year,
and I suspect it won’t end. It seems that the pace of technology will move even faster going forward.
Someone asked me recently to speak futuristically about what I envisioned our world would be like
professionally in the future. The first thing that came to my mind was communication. I don’t think
communication concerns ever go away for those of us who are charged with health promotion or
healthcare responsibilities, and who provide health information to individuals and the community. As
professionals in public health and other disciplines we will need to up our game in communicating to an
audience that has vast electronic information resources, who don’t trust science, and who are only
willing to listen if you are entertaining and can deliver in Twitter speed. Now that is quite the challenge.
But added to that will be those in our community who will not have the resources needed to access
future high-tech health services being offered. Think about all the people during the pandemic who did
not have the equipment or knowledge to participate in virtual health care visits when providers were
limiting in-person patient visits. It’s possible we are only staring to understand the digital divide. The
digital divide is the gap between those who have access to technology, the internet and digital literacy
training and those who do not. It affects access to healthcare, education, and services.
For providers, a commitment to lifelong learning, staying informed on technology trends, being open to
new methods of delivering healthcare and prevention messages, and a willingness to reinvent ourselves
will be essential for future success. Certainly, I can’t predict the future and can’t pinpoint the specific
technology and skills that we will need to acquire in the future. I also don’t know how affordable
technology will be in the future or even how empowered people will feel to utilize new models and
products. But it makes sense that we would want to be planning and thinking about these things now
and through a lens of equity for the sake of those who are less educated, poor, old, or are dinosaurs.