Digital Transformation of the Sphere of Public Health in Ukraine

Abstract

Currently, coronavirus infection is spreading around the world. Public health professionals need to develop new tools to ensure the epidemiological safety of citizens. First of all, it concerns the implementation of public health policy and health culture at the intersectoral level. Big data analytics, smart solutions for COVID-19 vaccination and morbidity monitoring, mobile applications to monitor the movement and contact of individuals, personal smart devices, cyberphysical technologies, and smart city infrastructure help in this regard. Scientific works of researchers are devoted to the impact of the digital economy on the development of society, the application digital communications in the activities of public authorities, the peculiarities of the formation of digital culture, cybersecurity and e-democracy. NGO’s experts offer their projects of digital transformation in the country, including in the field of health care. The issue of electronic tools in the field of public health and related public policy has not yet been addressed in recent scientific publications. The purpose of the article is to find out the current state of digital transformation in public administration and politics of Ukraine and the world, to determine further effective areas of application of IT tools in the field of public health policy. The article examines domestic laws and regulations in the field of e-government. Alternative projects of digital transformation of Ukraine proposed by public organizations are analyzed. It is established that at the national level, the foundations of digital transformation in the field of health care and public health in particular have been formed. The author of the article records a private initiative of professional associations of ICT specialists, the desire and efforts of the third sector in the direction of dynamic development of digitalization of health care. Regions and local communities at the united territorial communities’ level are not sufficiently covered by digital development. The directions of digitalization of public administration and public policy are proposed. Thus, the use of digital and mobile jobs in the public sector and in local governments will bring employees closer to society; will enable them to perform quality service functions, including health care. E-government tools are one of the leading positions in public policy-making. Today, Ukraine has laid the foundations for the digital transformation of public administration and public policy. The necessary legislative and regulatory framework for the development of e-government has been developed, including in terms of morbidity prevention, monitoring and assessment of public health, promotion of healthy lifestyles, anti-epidemiological measures, formation of health culture and development of health-preserving regional and local visions. However, the problem of further development at the regional level of public health remains. There are not enough funds in local budgets and experienced staff. Further research should focus on aspects of human-centred, humanistic public health policy, especially in quarantine.