DIGITAL HUMANITIES AS A FRAMEWORK FOR GOVERNANCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE NARRATIVES IN HEALTHCARE: A CASE STUDY OF THE APOLLO–GOVERNMENT GENERAL HOSPITAL, CHITTOOR PUBLIC–PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP

Abstract

This paper explores how Digital Humanities (DH) methods can illuminate the governance dynamics of health sector collaborations, with a focus on the Public–Private Partnership (PPP) between Apollo Hospitals and the Government General Hospital in Chittoor. Adopting an interdisciplinary lens that combines policy analysis, administrative review, and computational text analysis, the study interrogates how narratives of efficiency, equity, and accountability are constructed in diverse documentary sources. Using tools such as text mining, sentiment analysis, and network mapping, the research identifies efficiency-oriented language as dominant in government and institutional discourse, while concerns related to equity and access are comparatively muted. Sentiment analysis reveals contrasting framings: hospital and state sources emphasize success and innovation, whereas audits and media accounts highlight issues of oversight and accountability. Network visualization further demonstrates Apollo’s centrality in shaping the partnership narrative, with ancillary clusters formed by education providers, regulators, and digital health initiatives. These results underscore the dual potential of PPPs: to expand institutional capacity while simultaneously generating contested debates about inclusivity and governance. More broadly, the study shows how DH techniques enrich health policy research by uncovering latent structures in institutional narratives. The Chittoor PPP thus serves as both a substantive example of health system transformation and a methodological case study for integrating computational humanities with public health, administration, and law.