The article contains the results of a mix methods empirical research of digital technologies spread in health care practices among residents of big Russian cities. Combining two groups of methods — qualitative and quantitative — allowed us to get a comprehensive idea of the phenomenon under study. Even though d-Health is largely designed to smooth out existing inequalities in health and access to medical care, today we are talking about the emergence of new gaps. Our focus is on gender differences as determinants of involvement in new ways of maintaining well-being. As a result of the analysis, the features of the digital technologies use were found due to the content of modern social roles expressing normative expectations regarding the necessary and desirable ways of taking care for health of representatives of each gender. Thus, the application of innovations in case of men is mainly individualistic in nature (self-care), while in case of women it is more “social” (caring for others). The age and the frequency of the Internet use in general turned out to be the key factors of involvement in new ways of health care for representatives of both groups: the younger the respondents, the more often they appeal to innovations and the more similarity in new practices they demonstrate. It was revealed that the most significant context determining gender differences in digital practices is the presence of health problems. In this situation, men are more active than women and use a wide range of digital resources. In general, we can conclude that today digital technologies do not create differences, rather, existing inequalities manifest themselves in new ways of maintaining well-being. Read in PDF
