Today’s research on the matter of global health tendencies cannot be considered exhaustive if technological advancements are not successfully integrated into the examination process. Thus, the article presented by Dietrich et al. (2018) dwells on the specifics of using space technology in the field of global health. Although at the beginning it may be challenging to understand the interrelation between the two concepts, researchers present a clear research question by presenting the idea of four different domains of space technology that might be used in public health, including:
- Remote sensing, or collecting data from satellite or aircraft;
- Global navigation satellite system, which helps precisely identify the patterns of communicable disease vectors;
- Satellite connection as a major telemedicine contributor;
- Human space flight, which accounts for the ability to provide health care in space (Dietrich et al., 2018).
In order to define the extent to which the aforementioned domains were relevant, researchers defined scoping review to be the most efficient way to collect data on the matter, as it helped make the inclusion criteria more expansive. Another goal of the authors was to identify the major stakeholders in the “space technology – global health” paradigm. Thus, Dietrich et. (2018) estimated that stakeholders included thematic journals, entities fostering data availability, national space institutes, and UN entities. The results of the research demonstrated that there indeed was a connection between the use of space technology and global health tendencies. Moreover, the implementation of the aforementioned technology would have a positive impact on public health policies. The major issue, however, concerned the fact that there was no exhaustive knowledge of the actual potential of such an endeavor. Thus, it may be concluded that despite the limitations of the study, such as its broadness and lack of empirical ground, the article provides recipients with quality data on commencing further investigations in the sphere.
Reference
Dietrich, D., Dekova, R., Davy, S., Fahrni, G., & Geissbühler, A. (2018). Applications of space technologies to global health: Scoping review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 20(6). Web.