| CODE | SOC5017 | ||||||
| TITLE | Digital Health Technologies | ||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Sociology | ||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Digital health technologies are increasingly being sold as a panacea for many medical and public health challenges of our time. The World Health Organization has identified digital health as a strategic area to accelerate global attainment of health and wellbeing. This study unit offers a critical perspective on the wider social, cultural, political and ethical dimensions of using digital health technologies in our everyday life. Students will engage with key concepts and debates from the field of Science and Technology Studies (STS) alongside sociological theory. Study-unit Aims: This study-unit equips students with conceptual tools to critically reflect on the opportunities, challenges and policy implications of digital health and innovation. The implementation of various digital technologies will be discussed in the context of everyday life as well as the health and social care sector. This exploration will be informed by critical perspectives from the fields of sociology, and Science and Technology Studies (STS). Key topics include: - quantifying the self (self-tracking); - digitised embodiment; - telemedicine, telehealth and telecare; - genetic tests, personalised medicine and biobanks; - artificial intelligence in health care; - sociomaterialist approaches; - surveillance and biopolitics; - social problems, 'technological fixes' and policy implications. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - develop an in-depth and critical understanding of the social, cultural, political and ethical dimensions of digital health technologies; - highlight the intended and unintended outcomes of using digital technologies to address contemporary challenges in medicine and public health; - understand key concepts and debates from Science and Technology Studies (STS) as applied to digital health and innovation; - apply sociological theory and concepts to societal discourses on health risks, personalised medicine, datafication of health and gene editing. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - demonstrate critical thinking during classroom discussions on the use of health technology vis-a-vis a variety of contemporary social issues; - use online and library resources selectively to augment study-unit material; - deliver a presentation on a set topic using IT tools effectively; - present a well-researched and structured assignment using effective referencing methods. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main text: - Lupton, D., 2017. Digital health: critical and cross-disciplinary perspectives. Routledge. (not available at UM library) Suggested: - Bunton, R. and Petersen, A., 2002. Foucault, health and medicine. Routledge. - Greene, J.A., 2022. The Doctor Who Wasn't There: Technology, History, and the Limits of Telehealth. University of Chicago Press. - Lupton, D., 2016. The quantified self. John Wiley & Sons. - Petersen, A., 2018. Digital health and technological promise: A sociological inquiry. Routledge. - Pols, J., 2012. Care at a distance: on the closeness of technology (p. 204). Amsterdam University Press. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture, Independent Study, Seminar and Tutorial | ||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Kay Polidano Dylan Cassar |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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