Digital Health Research Group
In today's dynamic healthcare landscape, the rapid integration of digital technologies presents unprecedented opportunities for transformative change. Recognising this potential, ARU's Digital Health Research Group endeavours to undertake pioneering research and education initiatives within the burgeoning field of digital health and to use evidence to influence policy and practice.
In response to the imperative for healthcare workforce preparedness in the digital era, the Topal Review commissioned by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in 2017 paved the way for embracing innovative technologies such as genomics, digital medicine, artificial intelligence, and robotics.
Aligned with this vision, the NHS Long Term Plan (2019) underscores the pivotal role of technology in enhancing patient care and population health outcomes. This includes, for example: providing digital services to empower individuals in managing their health, ensuring secure digital access to medical records, streamlining administrative tasks to free up healthcare professionals' time for care, and effectively managing big data to improve health outcomes.
The demand for high-quality healthcare services continues to escalate globally, fuelled by factors such as ageing populations, increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, and evolving healthcare needs.
Within the NHS, workforce planning remains a critical challenge, exacerbated by the persistent shortage of healthcare professionals, notably nurses. As the backbone of healthcare delivery, nurses in public and allied health play a pivotal role in ensuring patient safety, quality of care, and overall healthcare outcomes. In this context, research in digital health emerges as a crucial avenue for addressing workforce planning challenges and mitigating the impact of staff shortages within the NHS, particularly among nursing personnel.
Digital health technologies offer innovative solutions to optimise workforce utilisation, enhance operational efficiency, and improve the delivery of patient-centred care. By leveraging digital tools and strategies, healthcare organisations can streamline administrative tasks, automate routine processes, and empower healthcare professionals to focus on high-value clinical activities, thus maximising the productivity and effectiveness of the workforce.
Aligned with global guidelines and Sustainable Development Goals (WHO, 2015), the research group recognises the interconnection between digital health and sustainable development. The WHO highlights digital technologies' pivotal role in achieving universal health coverage and promoting healthcare equity. Furthermore, Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG 3) (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) underscore the critical importance of harnessing digital solutions to tackle healthcare challenges and foster sustainable development.
Research focus areas
- Digital health interventions: evaluating the efficacy and impact of a wide array of digital health technologies, ranging from telehealth platforms to mobile health applications and wearable devices in improving patient outcomes, enhancing healthcare accessibility, and empowering individuals to manage chronic conditions effectively.
- Assessing the effectiveness of digital health technologies in addressing nursing staff shortages and optimising workforce sustainability within the NHS, with a focus on improving patient outcomes whilst enhancing operational efficiency.
- Health informatics and data analytics: advancing methodologies for harnessing this information to drive informed decision-making, optimise resource allocation, workforce planning and facilitate continuous quality improvement across healthcare settings.
- Human-centred design and user experience: prioritising end-users' needs to develop intuitive and engaging digital health solutions.
- Education and training: evaluating and developing new pedagogies for integrating digital health literacy into healthcare education and continuous professional development.
- Partnerships and collaboration: Engaging stakeholders to co-create and implement digital health solutions addressing real-world challenges.
Aligned with WHO guidelines and Sustainable Development Goals, this group not only acknowledges the pivotal role of digital health in achieving universal health coverage and sustainable development but also recognises the sustainability challenges inherent in adopting digital solutions.
