Health and welfare in the digital age in Latin America during the last ten years

Abstract

Health is one of the areas most influenced by the changes generated in the digital era. This review aims to evaluate the effects of the digital era on health and well-being in Latin America during the last ten years; a narrative review was carried out through a differentiated search of articles published in the last five years on the digital era and its relationship with health and well-being, with special interest in the Latin American region. It became evident that the risks and harms of the digital era have a direct impact on the health of all users, especially children and young people. On the other hand, the technological advances of the digital era in the field of health are important in the evaluation of epidemiological risk, in the diagnosis of pathologies and in the choice of the most appropriate therapeutic behavior. It is concluded that health and well-being in Latin America is one of the areas most influenced by the changes generated in the digital era and that, for the most part, technological advances have advantages for health care processes, their actors and components. In Latin America there are limitations to the more effective use of AI in health and social welfare. The most important ones are technological and ethical; however, the articulation of actors constitutes an opportunity for the region, in the sense that Latin American countries can move towards common strategies.