Digital Pathways to Inclusive Health Reform: Addressing Mental Health Inequities Among Informal Workers in India

Title

Digital Pathways to Inclusive Health Reform: Addressing Mental Health Inequities Among Informal Workers in India

Creator

George, Jince; Karalam, Sheeja B.

Description

This chapter examines how digital transformation can address mental health inequities among informal workers in India, focusing on discrimination, labor precarity, and unequal access to care. Using empirical insights from Kerala within broader national and global contexts, it analyzes how psychological distress among native and migrant workers emerges from intersecting socioeconomic, institutional, and digital factors. Drawing on psychology, public health, economics, and digital governance, the chapter proposes a phygital mental health framework integrating physical services with digitally enabled care pathways. Emphasis is placed on ethical leadership, data governance, and economic sustainability, highlighting both opportunities and risks of digital mental health expansion. The chapter demonstrates how compassionate, inclusive, and accountable digital reforms can translate mental health policy into effective instruments for equity, social justice, and sustainable health system transformation. 2026 by IGI Global Scientific Publishing. All rights reserved.

Source

AI and Digital Innovation in Healthcare Reform: from Policy to Practice;pp.29-64

Date

01-01-2026

Publisher

IGI Global

Coverage

George J., Christ University, India; Karalam S.B., Christ University, India

Rights

Restricted Access; Hardcopy may be available in the library

Relation

ISBN: 979-826000941-3; 979-826000939-0;

Format

online

Language

English

Type

Book chapter

Identifier

https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-2600-0939-0.ch002

https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105037569105?origin=resultslist