IB Digital Society 4.4 Health Key Definitions

The design of digital systems so that people with disabilities can use them, through features like screen readers, captions, and alternative ways to input. Well-designed systems widen inclusion, while poorly designed ones create new barriers.

Systematic, unfair outcomes produced by a computer system, often because the data it learned from under-represents some groups or encodes past inequality. In healthcare it can mean a tool works well for some patients and poorly for others.

The idea that human attention is a scarce, valuable resource that platforms compete to capture and sell to advertisers, shaping media to be as engaging and hard to put down as possible.

A system that reads signals from the brain and translates them into commands for a computer or device, letting a person act by intention alone. It is used to restore lost function, such as movement or communication, and raises questions about enhancement and control.

Software, increasingly built on AI and machine learning, that analyses medical data and offers a clinician suggestions, such as flagging a likely diagnosis or a suspicious region on a scan. It supports the human decision rather than replacing it.

The use of digital tools to support mental wellbeing, including teletherapy, mood-tracking and meditation apps, peer-support communities, and AI chatbots. It can widen access and offer anonymity, but raises questions about safety, privacy, and the limits of automated help.

A subset of artificial intelligence that enables systems to learn from data and improve their performance over time without explicit programming.

An RFID device placed under the skin of an individual to ease the usage of a relevant digital technology.

The practice of tracking aspects of daily life as data, such as steps, sleep, heart rate, mood, and diet, usually through wearables and apps. It can support healthier habits but can also turn the body and self into a scoreboard to optimise.

The delivery of healthcare at a distance using digital networks, for example video consultations, remote messaging, and connected home devices. It can widen access to care but depends on having a device, connectivity, and digital confidence.

A device worn on or in the body that continuously measures health data such as heart rate, activity, or blood glucose. It can give the wearer real-time feedback and send readings to a care team for remote monitoring.