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ObjectiveStigma has been recognized as a significant issue in sexual health, yet no specific guidelines exist to support digital health development teams in creating stigma-alleviating sexual health digital platforms. The purpose of this study was to develop a set of design guidelines that would serve as a reference point for addressing stigma during the design of sexual health-related digital platforms.Materials and methodsWe conducted a 3-round Delphi study among 14 researchers in stigma and sexual health. A preliminary list of 28 design guidelines was generated from a literature review. Participants appraised and critiqued the clarity and usefulness of the preliminary list and provided comments for each item and for the overall group of items at each round. At each round, a content validity index and an interquartile range were calculated to determine the level of consensus regarding the clarity and usefulness of each guideline. Items were retained if there was high consensus or were dropped if there was no consensus after the three rounds.ResultsNineteen design guidelines achieved consensus. Most of them were content-related guidelines and sought to address the emotional concerns of patients that could potentially aggravate stigma. The findings also reflected modern stigma management strategies of making stigma a societal attribute by challenging, exposing, and normalizing stigma attributes via web platforms.ConclusionTo address stigma via digital platforms, developers should not just concentrate on technical solutions but seriously consider content-related and emotional design components that are likely to result in stigma.

INTRODUCTION:Electronic Health Records are receiving considerable attention as a valuable tool for managing clinical information. Despite the prospects of Electronic Health Records in developing countries, many pre-implementation assessments target organizational, managerial, and infrastructural readiness, but barely include a detailed examination of health provider readiness. Meanwhile, health provider readiness is a critical success factor for electronic health records in settings where the majority of the workforce is less likely to have basic computer skills. We sought to assess the readiness of health providers for electronic health records in Ghana. MATERIALS AND METHOD:An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 350 health providers in northern Ghana from June-September 2019. Data were collected using a modified questionnaire on provider readiness. The mean overall readiness was calculated for each respondent. Providers with readiness score below the overall mean score were categorized as not being ready while those at or above the mean score were considered ready. Multiple linear regression was conducted to determine the factors that determine provider readiness. RESULTS:Two hundred and nine health providers responded to the questionnaire (59.7 response rate). The mean overall readiness was 3.61 (SD = .76), mean core readiness was 3.74 (SD = .80), and mean engagement readiness was 3.47 (SD = .67). Using the average overall readiness score as the cut-off for determining being ready and not ready for electronic health records, overall readiness was 54.9%, core readiness was 67.2%, while engagement readiness was 43.1%. Age, sex, old employees compared to new employees, computer literacy, and knowledge of electronic health records were significant determinants of health providers' readiness to adopt electronic health records. CONCLUSION:We observed that health providers were marginally ready for electronic health records adoption. While participants might have expressed dissatisfaction with paper-based records and expressed a desire for electronic health records, they expressed fear of the potential impact of computerized records. We proposed a robust informatics curriculum and capacity building workshops for improving provider readiness for electronic health records.