Young adults in Bangladesh and Colombia reported that digital transformation has transformed their access to sexual and reproductive health and HIV information, with both positive impacts from social media influencers and harms from misinformation, lack of confidentiality, and widespread stigma.
Key Findings
Results
Young adults in both Bangladesh and Colombia reported that the digital turn had transformed their access to sexual and reproductive health and HIV information.
Study participants were young adults aged 18-30 in both countries
In Bangladesh, participants were predominantly men
In Colombia, participants included people living with HIV, gay men, and transgender women
Data were collected through focus group discussions and interviews
The study was conducted as part of a broader international research and advocacy project
Results
Young social media influencers were identified as playing a positive role in disseminating sexual and reproductive health and HIV information.
Participants in both Bangladesh and Colombia highlighted the positive role of young social media influencers
This finding emerged across focus group discussions and interviews
The positive role of influencers was noted alongside significant concerns about the information environment
Early-career researchers from both countries collaborated to collect and analyze these findings
Results
Participants identified misinformation, lack of confidentiality, and widespread stigma as significant harms associated with digital health in both countries.
These harms were reported by young adults aged 18-30 across both Bangladesh and Colombia
Lack of confidentiality was identified as a specific concern in digital health contexts
Widespread stigma was noted as a harm experienced through digital platforms
Misinformation was identified as a concern alongside the positive impacts of digital health information access
Results
Young adults in both countries called for greater government efforts to develop digital health, including through social media platforms.
This recommendation emerged from focus group discussions and interviews in both Bangladesh and Colombia
Participants specifically identified social media platforms as a venue for government engagement
The call for government action was framed within a rights-based context
These recommendations were intended to inform collaborative advocacy efforts
Conclusions
The authors found that transnational collaborations offer the potential to generate actionable insights and inform the development of rights-based digital governance.
The collaboration involved early-career researchers from Bangladesh and Colombia working within a broader international research and advocacy project
The study was framed in relation to the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health's 2023 report on digital innovation and technology
The Special Rapporteur had called for greater efforts to consult and engage with youth and civil society
The authors position their methodology as a model for rights-based digital governance development
What This Means
This research suggests that young adults in Bangladesh and Colombia are navigating a complex digital health landscape when it comes to sexual and reproductive health and HIV information. The study found that the growth of digital tools and social media has meaningfully improved young people's ability to access health information, with young social media influencers playing a particularly positive role. At the same time, participants reported serious problems including misinformation spreading online, fears about privacy and confidentiality, and stigma encountered in digital spaces—issues that were present in both countries despite their very different social and cultural contexts.
The study involved young adults aged 18-30, with a focus in Colombia on groups that face particular health disparities: people living with HIV, gay men, and transgender women. Participants from both countries said they want governments to take a more active role in shaping digital health environments, including on social media platforms, rather than leaving these spaces ungoverned. The research was itself conducted as a cross-border collaboration between early-career researchers in Bangladesh and Colombia, which the authors suggest is a useful model for producing practical, community-grounded insights.
This research matters because it brings the voices of young people from lower- and middle-income countries into global conversations about how digital technology should be governed in relation to health rights. The findings align with concerns raised by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health in 2023, who called for greater youth engagement in digital health policy. The study suggests that without better governance, digital platforms may reinforce existing health inequalities through misinformation and stigma, even as they open new doors to health information.
(2025). The Digital Transformation and the Right to Health of Young Adults in Bangladesh and Colombia: A Community-Engaged Study.. Health and human rights. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39742200/