HETEK4000 Interactions in Health and Technology Course description

Technological development driven by science and innovation is crucial for a sustainable future healthcare system. The process of developing, implementing, and utilising new technology requires interdisciplinary collaboration, active user involvement and understanding of the roles of public and private stakeholders. Stakeholders include the higher education sector, the specialist- and municipal health service, user organisations, as well as enterprises.

This course introduces key concepts related to technological research and development, user involvement and engagement, system design, and innovation. Students will explore how new technology can contribute to sustainable solutions in health care services and health related research. Reflection about ethical challenges posed by new technology, and the advantages and obstacles of interdisciplinary collaborations will also be central in the course.

Students must have been admitted to the Master’s Programme in Health and Technology.

After completing the course, the student should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student

• can account for key concepts related to technological development, system design and innovation
• has knowledge of different stakeholders and their role in the health service and in health related research
• can describe suitable professional tools and methods for identifying user needs and assessing their functional level through user oriented thinking
• can describe important factors that promote or hinder the implementation of technology in practice
• is familiar with some relevant technological solutions used in diagnostic tools, therapy, health promotion or rehabilitation work

Skills

The student

• can assess some established and new relevant user oriented methods in research and development work in health and technology
• can reflect on ethical issues relating to cases from a health and technology perspective
• can actively engage in interdisciplinary discussions and collaborative group work
• can use future scenarios to discuss technological developments in their own field both nationally and internationally

General competence

The student

• can reflect upon opportunities for innovation within the field of health and technology, e.g. new sustainable solutions, working methods, services or products, with the help of user orientation, system design and critical thinking
• can identify and reflect upon disciplinary differences, possible barriers, and ways of integrating their own professional background and competence in an interdisciplinary collaboration

The work and teaching methods used will be case-focused and include group work with practical exercises and thematic lectures involving contributions from practitioners in the municipal and specialist health services, business and industry and other special interest organisation.

Efforts will be made to ensure that the cases used reflect how interdisciplinary collaboration will take place in the workplace. The case studies will be based on different user needs. This orientation to systems, services and processes provides an approach to the many zones of interaction between health and technology.

Students will work in groups of 4-6 students. After an initial theoretical introduction and user orientation, the students will prepare proposals for a case based on an overall common issue at the intersection between health and technology. Depending on the case, efforts will be made to link the group to external stakeholders they can have a dialogue with during the course. Activities will vary between theory review and practical group work.

The following must have been approved in order for the student to take the exam:

• Oral presentation in groups of 4-6 students, up to 30 minutes. The group will present their own health and technology project, and the form of presentation chosen depends on the project. Issues arising along the way must be described. The presentation must be given in English if there are English-speaking students on the course.

Project exam in groups of 4-6 students in the form of a written assignment submitted by the same group as under the coursework requirement. The assignment is prepared during the course period, with a scope of up to 3,000 words. The paper can be written in English or a Scandinavian language.

Resit exam: If the written assignment is given an F (Fail), the group will be given one (1) opportunity to submit a reworked version.

All aids are permitted as long as the rules for source referencing are complied with.

Grade scale A-F

All answers are assessed by two examiners. An external examiner is used regularly, at a minimum of every third completion of the course. When selecting answers for external evaluation, a minimum of 10 percent of the answers shall be included, with no fewer than 5 answers. The external examiner’s assessment of the selected answers shall benefit all students.

None.