Connecting Health Communication Research to Community Implementation in Digital Health

11 Feb 2026 (Wed)

On 9 February 2026, Dr. BAO Huanyu, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Communication and Media at City University of Hong Kong and recipient of support from the RGC Junior Research Fellow Scheme, delivered a seminar titled “Connecting Health Communication Research to Community Implementation in Digital Health.” 





In the seminar, Dr. Bao emphasized that while digital health technologies hold significant promise for improving physical and mental well-being, they also risk widening existing health inequalities. Her research examines how intentional design and deployment can better serve underserved populations, particularly older adults and individuals with lower socioeconomic status. Through a series of mixed-method studies, she presented pathways for translating health communication research into real-world community settings, aiming to generate tangible social impact and advance both the theory and practice of equitable digital health innovation.

With more than 25 publications in leading journals, Dr. Bao’s research focuses on digital health, health inequalities, and gerontechnology. She employs mixed-method approaches to investigate how technology can be designed and implemented equitably for older adults and underserved communities.