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This chapter demonstrates the ways in which digital inclusion functions as a super social determinant of health, particularly within the arena of family carework and healthcare for vulnerable disabled US communities. The focus on vulnerable populations, including the elderly, chronically ill, young disabled, neurodivergent, and/or medically complex children and the families that care for them, is a useful case to present a compelling argument for the need to take seriously digital inclusion to maximize health, safety, and well-being for growing populations of Americans today. The authors argue that digital inclusion is an increasingly influential social determinant of health and a key dimension of health equity that offers important benefits and potentials, especially for vulnerable patient populations, for whom in-home and family-centered care are necessary parts of health maintenance, prevention, and well-being. The chapter ends with a discussion of ways that the US government can mitigate digital barriers and facilitate equitable access to broadband internet and e-health resources that address the intersections of digital, health, and care inequalities, with significant impacts in all three dimensions.

In an era where health professionals are increasingly demanding, and communicative skills are one of the keys to improve the relationship with the patient. The communicative competencies of assertiveness, clarity in verbal and non-verbal language, and positivity, based on the positive construction of the patient’s health path, improve the therapeutic relationship, as well as the relationship between professionals in the world of health complexity. The ACP Model is validated with extensive application by hundreds of professionals in Portugal who use it daily. Active learning is one of the most effective means of raising awareness and involving the professionals who are learning and implementing the ACP Model.