The Sanitas health insurance foundation wants to know what people in Switzerland think about digitalisation and explore how it affects the way they think and act. The results of the studies and surveys are designed to encourage public debate.
Each year, the Sanitas health insurance foundation commissions the “Data society and solidarity” survey to investigate the lives and behaviour of people living in Switzerland in connection with digitalisation.
For the 2022 survey, 2,450 people answered the Sotomo research institute’s online questionnaire in January of this year. Targeted respondent selection and weighting ensure a representative sample that is close to the composition of the Swiss population aged 18 and over.
“People in Switzerland are taking a more sober view of the opportunities and risks of digitalisation”
The positive assessment that digital transformation is primarily about progress and new opportunities has dipped slightly in 2022. There is growing conviction that digitalisation is dividing society into winners and losers. Some 70% of respondents believe that digitalisation will lead to greater inequality in economic life, and that the winning and losing sides will drift further apart.Eine gewisse Ermüdung zeigt sich auch im alltäglichen Umgang mit digitalen Möglichkeiten: Weniger Befragte als mitten in der Pandemie geben an, regelmässig soziale Medien, Streaming-Dienste oder Videokonferenzen zu nutzen. Auch Smartwatches und Smarthome-Technologien stagnieren auf tiefem Stand.
A certain fatigue is also evident in the everyday use of digital products and services, with fewer respondents than in the midst of the pandemic saying they regularly use social media, streaming services or video conferencing. Smartwatches and smarthome technologies are also stagnating at a low level.
However, the population is becoming more confident from year to year that jobs will not be lost entirely as a result of digitalisation. Hardly anyone assumes any more that computers or robots will completely take over their jobs in the next ten years.
No digital fatigue is shown in these areas: More and more people – twice as many as in 2019 – are actively recording their health data. And trust in payment apps, which gained a foothold due to the pandemic, and in digital signatures is growing.
“Solidarity is important – as a basic principle”
Solidarity of the healthy with the sick has been brought to the fore by the pandemic: With 70% approval, it is considered the most important principle of solidarity, followed by solidarity of the rich with the poor or young with the old. It is interesting to note that solidarity of the old with the young has become much more important – especially from the perspective of the older generation. A kind of “thank you” at the end of the pandemic, in which young people gave up a lot, especially for old people?
Solidarity with people showing a lack of solidarity: For a majority of respondents, knowingly pursuing an unhealthy lifestyle and therefore risking high health costs for the general population shows a lack of solidarity. However, three-quarters are still in favour of these people receiving expensive medical treatment, with the costs being borne by all insureds.
Our understanding of “solidarity” is also changing: More people understand it to mean taking care of oneself and not being a burden on others, with a focus on individual responsibility. The COVID vaccine issue is likely to have contributed to this increase: “Taking care of yourself” in this context can be read either as a call to vaccinate or as a vote for the freedom not to vaccinate.
However, solidarity is not unconditional, especially when it comes to personal benefit or potential claims. For example, four out of ten people think that those who share their health data should have preferential access to new treatments. People who believe they lead a particularly healthy lifestyle are strongly in favour of behaviour-based health insurance premiums. And a majority of respondents who have been vaccinated against COVID believe that anyone who has chosen not to be vaccinated should not be treated in intensive care if there is a shortage of beds.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic upped the focus on social solidarity, this belief seems to be on shaky ground once personal gain is involved.
“Sharing health data? Trust is the magic word”
Attitudes are not only becoming more positive towards health tracking, but also with regard to sharing recorded data. For this, trust in data privacy and data security is crucial.
Today, almost nine out of ten people can imagine sharing their digitally recorded health data with their family doctor. The most important reason for this is the early detection of health problems. For the first time, more than half of respondents also said that they would also donate their health data to medical research.
In addition to personal gain, the respondents also see positive aspects for society: Comprehensive recording of health data, such as blood pressure or oxygen levels, should help provide better medical care. Tracking activity data, such as the number of steps taken or kilometres cycled, on the other hand, is expected to lead to lower healthcare costs overall.
Two-thirds of survey participants would be happy to use a digital health portal where all health-related data could be viewed (self-measured and collected by professionals, as well as medical documents). And 4 out of 5 people want to be able to decide for themselves with whom they share this data. So they would be willing and have the confidence to manage their own health data.