Show Summary Details

Page of

PRINTED FROM OXFORD HANDBOOKS ONLINE (www.oxfordhandbooks.com). © Oxford University Press, 2018. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a title in Oxford Handbooks Online for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice).

date: 19 January 2021

Abstract and Keywords

This review explores the role of digital inclusion in women’s health and well-being in rural communities. This involves reviewing existing research that focuses on the information experiences of women, specifically those who were digitally excluded or limited users of the Internet, who have benefitted from the support of digital inclusion initiatives and technology. There is a global gender digital divide in which more women than men often lack access to information and digital skills, particularly in rural areas. Digital inclusion initiatives are attempting to close this divide and to enable women to make informed decisions about their health and well-being and their families. The review also identifies that digital inclusion is a complex situation of enquiry; there is limited, fragmented research in which the concepts of information literacy and digital inclusion have been brought together; and significant tensions and contradictions exist within digital inclusion practice. The review also highlights the opportunity for further research and theory development.

Keywords: digital inclusion, digital inclusion initiatives, digital skills, gender, Internet, rural communities, women’s health

Sharon Wagg

Sharon Wagg is a doctoral researcher in the Centre of Information Management, part of the School of Business and Economics at Loughborough University, United Kingdom. She is the recipient of the Mark Hepworth PhD scholarship, and her research interests include digital inclusion and social change, information literacy, and lifelong learning. Sharon worked as part of the research team at the digital inclusion charity Good Things Foundation, and has a master’s degree in Librarianship (Distinction) from the University of Sheffield. Her PhD dissertation investigated digital inclusion initiatives in the context of rural communities in the United Kingdom.

Louise Cooke

Louise Cooke is Professor of Information and Knowledge Management in the School of Business and Economics at Loughborough University. Her main research interests focus on the ethical aspects of information, data and knowledge use, and the societal value of access to information. In particular, her work has focused on challenges to freedom of expression in the online environment. She led the Arts and Humanities Research Center–funded MAIPLE (Managing Access to the Internet in Public Libraries) and JISC-funded staff access to Information and Communication Technology in UK Further Education and Higher Education projects. Her PhD thesis investigated the impact on freedom of expression of measures taken to regulate internet access and content. She has published widely in the field of information science.

Boyka Simeonova

Boyka Simeonova is Lecturer in Information Management at Loughborough University, United Kingdom. Boyka is Director of the Knowledge and the Digital Economy Network and Deputy Director of the Centre for Information Management at Loughborough University. Boyka is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Boyka is the recipient of the Dean’s Early Career Researcher Award at Loughborough University and has published in Information Systems and Management.

Access to the complete content on Oxford Handbooks Online requires a subscription or purchase. Public users are able to search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter without a subscription.

Please subscribe or login to access full text content.

If you have purchased a print title that contains an access token, please see the token for information about how to register your code.

For questions on access or troubleshooting, please check our FAQs, and if you can''t find the answer there, please contact us.