The Centre for Health Technology (CHT) brings together academics from a wide range of disciplines in the University’s Faculties of Health, Science and Engineering, and Arts Humanities and Business. CHT also enjoys brilliant external partnerships - with our local health and care systems, businesses and the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector; with regional and national NHSE and with national and international companies and academics.
Recognising that adoption of Digital Health Technologies (DHTs) in health and care rests on both technological excellence and the need to address a range of architectural, evidential, socio-economic and cultural challenges, CHT brings together a truly multi-disciplinary team. Some of our members specialise in the development of novel DHTs (from apps and wearables, virtual reality and robotics to the deployment of AI). Others bring expertise in implementation science, knowledge mobilisation and evaluation (inc. economic evaluation) to support digital transformation.
Our mission is to address digital health inequalities, whether that be from geography, age, deprivation, or disability. We take a whole system approach considering not just the co-design and development of cutting-edge technology and the optimisation of data; but barriers and enablers to its translation in the complex health and care landscape; as well as its impact on the health of populations, the well-being of our health and care workforce and its ability to improve the quality, effectiveness and efficiency of health and care systems as a whole.
Our values are to:
- make a meaningful difference
- understand complexity
- pursue excellence
- work together collaboratively
- lead evidence-based innovation and technology adoption
- support the whole ecosystem
Our vision is to level up the adoption of digital health technologies across the NHS and social care systems and in particular coastal and rural communities by supporting the innovation and adoption of solutions that are end-user focused, evidence-based and fit-for-purpose. To this end, our activities include:
- Needs based, data driven analysis: identifying problems, possible solutions and opportunities for innovation
- An end-user focus: ideation and co-creation to meet the needs of end-users
- Knowledge mobilisation: mentoring, consulting and brokering relationships with subject matter expertise to drive evidence-based innovation and sector-wide success
- Evidence-based analysis: rapid cycle prototyping, testing and evaluation using simulated and real-world environments to ensure technologies are evidence-based and fit for purpose
- Applying implementation science: pathway redesign, change/project management, benefits realisation and return on investment maximisation
- Building capacity, capability and curiosity: removing barriers, raising awareness, empowering communities and developing skills
Our members:
- produce world leading research
- excel in developing innovative health technologies
- are committed to knowledge mobilisation – working at the intersections of academia, industry, end users and policy makers to develop and evaluate meaningful solutions to address real-world challenges.
- produce research that demonstrably makes a contribution to improving the lives of people and communities, at both a local, national and global level.