Health technology in health & welfare services (MHV201)

Health technology in provision of healthcare- and welfare service has escalated in recent years, but there are surprisingly little attention within disciplines that develope and apply health technology and a digitalised healthcare- and welfare service. This has implications for the level of knowledge and how prepared health personnel and patients are for how health technology changes everyday life. This course emphasizes reflection and understanding of adjustments healthcare professionals and patients must make when healthcare technology is used in, for example, follow-up and treatment. Today's organization of the healthcare- and welfare service is challenged in many ways in the encounter with new technology. This course provides increased awareness of how the development and implementation of health technology can create opportunities and challenges for both health personnel and patients.

This course provides insight into health technology opportunities and challenges in practice. Health technology is an important area of ​​focus within the health- and welfare service and is an inter-disiplinary field. The course will provide insight and understanding of health technology tms, such as eHealth, mHealth and telemedicine. Health technology challenges and changes the way we think about clinical practice, and how we organize the healthcare services, and creates new opportunities for both healthcare professionals and patients. It gives patients the opportunity to be involved in decision-making regarding their health and welfare, while challenging our understanding of digital health literacy and raise awareness towards providing ethical sound, digtial healthcare services.

Health technology also challenges healthcare professionals by introducing new technology and new ways of delivering healthcare services. The course will highlight and discuss how these challenges can be met. A key term for improving current and future health- and welfare services is innovation. A basic understanding of what is meant by innovation and which steps are included in an innovation process is therefore important.

These are topics that the course will focus on and will provide a basis for increased awareness and reflection on the importance of health technology in practice, where technology acceptance models and innovation are included as theoretical frameworks.

Upon completion of this course, the students are expected to have the following knowledge, skills and competence:

Knowledge

Candidate

• has in-depth knowledge of how health technology solutions affect theory and practice
• has broad knowledge of public and political plans and strategies for health technology within healthcare services, and ethical issues of the application of digital health.
• has advanced knowledge of how technology acceptance models can be used in the implementation of new health technology solutions in the healthcare- and welfare services
• has advanced knowledge of the possibilities and challenges health technology can have in healthcare service offered to people with health challenges.
• has advanced knowledge of systematic quality improvement models within digital helathcare services
• has advanced insight into the relationship between health technology and innovation
• Has in-depth knowledge of the basic steps of an innovation process

Skills

Candidate

• Can identify, define and assess health technology challenges for health personnel and patients
• Can apply technology acceptance models related to the implementation of health technology solutions for various patient groups
• Can analyse health technology problems related to different patients and contexts and formulate professional reasoning
• Can analyse the tension between patients as active and full users of health technology and use of the healthcare service
• Can apply systematic quality improvement models to implement improvement in healthcare services

General competence

Candidate

• Can discuss ethical and legal issues related to the use of health technology solutions
• can contribute to new thinking and innovation processes
• can analyse empirical research of how people with health challenges experience health technology on a daily basis
• can identify and communicate relevant issues related to the field of health technology