¹û¶³Ó°Ôº

This module is designed for those with an interest in understanding, developing and evaluating infectious disease digital health interventions and surveillance using mobile communication devices from the individual to the population level globally. Such health technologies are often targeted at people with a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences in diverse settings, and there are many factors that need to be taken in to account when thinking about, proposing, designing, or evaluating these technologies, such as impact on existing service delivery, usage of limited resources, security of systems, and maintenance of personal privacy. There is also a pressing need to think about ways to link emerging diagnostic technologies in this field with care pathways and surveillance systems to facilitate early detection and interventions, and to provide appropriate and adequate support to users.

By the end of the module students should be able to:

1. Describe how digital health devices are being used to deliver healthcare for infectious diseases across a range of countries and settings.
2. Articulate a basic understanding of the key aspects, and different approaches that can be employed, in the development and evaluation of digital health interventions.
3. Describe the challenges surrounding the development, evaluation and implementation of digital health interventions.
4. Outline the importance of taking user-centred, service delivery, and population level approaches to digital health interventions.
5. Outline the potential of novel diagnostics delivered via mobile phones and how they may impact on service delivery, and transmission dynamics.
6. Articulate an understanding of the issues surrounding regulation, accreditation and ethics of digital health interventions.
7. Describe how Digital health interventions may enhance surveillance and how this, and other big data applications, can inform public health interventions.
8. Critically assess the limitations of digital health, including the potential for digital health interventions to increase health inequality, within different populations.
9. Understand the challenges and benefits of interdisciplinary research.

• You will learn through a combination of teaching, self-directed reading, and group work. Interactive lectures will be combined with tutorials and group discussion. Tutors within the Institute forÌýGlobal Health and other ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº departments will carry out the bulk of teaching, but external lecturers/speakers willÌýalso be employed.

  Readings for this module will include:

• Budd, J., Miller, B.S., Manning, E.M. et al. Digital technologies in the public-health response to COVID-19. Nat Med 26, 1183–1192 (2020).
• Gibbs Jo, Solomon Danielle, Jackson Louise, Mullick Saiqa, Burns Fiona, Shahmanesh Maryam (2022) Measuring and evaluating sexual health in the era of digital health: challenges and opportunities.ÌýSexual HealthÌý19, 336-345.Ìý
• Keddy KH, Saha S, Kariuki S, Kalule JB, Qamar FN, Haq Z, Okeke IN. Using big data and mobile health to manage diarrhoeal disease in children in low-income and middle-income countries: societal barriers and ethical implications. Lancet Infect Dis. 2022 May;22(5):e130-e142. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(21)00585-5
• Marent B, Henwood F, Darking M, EmERGE Consortium. Development of an mHealth platform for HIV care: gathering user perspectives through co-design workshops and interviews. JMIR mHealth and uHealth. 2018;6(10):e184.
• Wood, C.S., Thomas, M.R., Budd, J. et al. Taking connected mobile-health diagnostics of infectious diseases to the field. Nature 566, 467–474 (2019).Ìý