Rachel Sinanan | Researcher in Digital Health Literacy
Federation University

Rachel Sinanan is a PhD researcher at Federation University Australia’s ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Optimal Ageing, where her research focuses on digital health literacy and digital inclusion among adults aged 45 years and older. Her research challenges the assumption that digital inclusion is simply about access and technical skills. As healthcare increasingly moves into the digital space, people must do more than find and use digital health services, they must also interpret information, recognise misinformation, evaluate competing sources, and make informed decisions in increasingly complex digital environments. Drawing on a biopsychosocial–digital framework, Rachel’s research examines how biological, psychological, social and digital factors shape meaningful engagement with digital healthcare, with a particular focus on the role of psychological capabilities such as digital self-efficacy, technology-related anxiety and critical appraisal. Rachel is the lead author of a 2026 scoping review published in Health Promotion International examining digital health literacy interventions for adults aged 45 and over. Her current PhD research builds on this work to investigate how digital health literacy can move beyond a skills-based approach towards more critical, person-centred and inclusive models of digital participation. Her presentation, “Access Isn’t Enough: Why Digital Health Literacy Is the Crisis No One Is Talking About,” explores why providing access to digital healthcare is only the beginning, and why the ability to critically evaluate what we encounter online may be one of the most important digital health capabilities of the future.