PHDDS91523 Digital Health and Psychosocial well-being (Spring 2025)

Elective course in the PhD programme Digitalisation and Society.

PhD students from other institutions are welcome to apply, but students from this PhD programme will be prioritised. To apply for participation, please contact Liv Simensen (liv.simensen@hiof.no).

The course Digital Health and Psychosocial well-being comprises an exploration and critical analysis of how the development and implementation of digital technologies affect health and quality of life, and how these innovations are experienced by stakeholders in different settings. As such health and social care, educational and workplace settings, will be explored. In doing so, the course will consider how stakeholders can be co-creators, participate in and influence technological development and implementation processes.

The course takes a critical biopsychosocial approach to health, quality of life and digitalisation, and both individual and societal perspectives will thus be explored. New digital modes of interacting and communicating will be highlighted, and the ways in which technological development can promote health, quality of life and increased empowerment and independence, will be discussed in this context. In addition, the course explores issues of marginalisation, alienation and power in relation to the experiences of different stakeholders.

Ethical perspectives on digitalisation will also be highlighted.

Lectures will be given on specific topics including:

• impact of digital technologies on health and quality of life
• opportunities and consequences of digitalisation in health and welfare services,

educational and workplace settings for health and quality of life

• digitalisation in health and welfare services – policies, practices and artefacts
• user participation and autonomy in evolving digital health and welfare services
• possibilities for coping, agency and empowerment in relation to digital tools and

solutions

• digitalisation of social interactions and relations
• marginalisation, power and violence in digitalised societies
• ethical challenges and considerations in relation to health, quality of life and

digitalisation

• practical examples of specific digital tools or systems, and how these are utilised in

real-world settings

Knowledge

The student

• has advanced knowledge about how digitalisation and digital tools can be developed and utilised to promote health and quality of life, and can also approach this critically
• can evaluate how digitalisation within different settings influences persons, interpersonal relationships and interactions
• can evaluate ethical perspectives in relation to health and quality of life, and digitalisation
• can contribute to the development of new knowledge in relation to health and quality of life in relation to digitalisation

Skills

The student

• can critically discuss and analyse opportunities and challenges of digitalisation in relation to health and quality of life

General competence

The student

• can identify and critically evaluate digital practices and experiences related to health and quality of life in different settings
• can identify ethical issues in relation to relevant research projects
• can identity and assess the need for digital innovation in relation to health and quality of life

Lectures, seminars and individual presentations, peer review of fellow student’s paper, and discussions.

The duration of the course is six days, distributed over two or more sessions.

Individual draft text/article focusing on health, quality of life and digitalisation in relation to the student’s own research projects, which can be utilised in the overall writing of the thesis. Approximately 3000 words +/- 10%.

Grading scale: pass/fail.