About
From Innovation to users (and back)
Global health technologies, such as vaccines, diagnostic tools and antibiotics, have shaped the last century of medical advances, leading to globally increased life expectancy and crucial improvements in quality of life. Technologies continue to develop at breath-taking speed and redraw the boundaries between life and death.
However, in practice many technological advances cannot unfold their full potential due to limitations in availability and uptake. Technologies are embedded in a dense web of legal, ethical, infrastructural and societal requirements meant to ensure their utility and safe use.
In the global health context, however, technologies are often needed in regions with weak infrastructures, governance and regulatory institutions, exposing them to the risks of misguided use and poor integration into health systems and everyday practices of health-seeking behaviors. The key challenge, then, is to identify who or what can safeguard, guide and foster the use of (new) technologies when these are often only loosely embedded in commercial and regulatory forces of markets, governmental bodies and consumer attitudes.
Aim
The Research Unit focuses on the users of global health technologies. Putting users (end users, regulatory, governmental, commercial) center stage will allow to close the gap between the (imagined) potentials of novel technologies and the particularities of different contexts of use.
Overarching Research Questions
- 1
What key factors influence how new technologies are adopted and adapted in settings with limited resources?
- 2
To what extent does the development and uptake of new technologies depend on a clear understanding of local user needs and practices?
- 3
Through what kinds of interactions and mechanisms do relationships between users and technologies take shape in environments with minimal regulatory oversight?
- 4
How can transdisciplinary approaches help navigate and reconcile different expectations and visions for how health technologies should be used?
Case Studies Along the Technology Life Cycle
A consistent cycle underlies the development and implementation of novel technologies: research and development is followed by a prototype, and then by practical implementation. In case studies, researchers from the Research Unit will monitor each of these three stages on-site. While the vaccine program in Accra, Ghana, addresses hurdles in the implementation phase of technologies, the case study with focus on participatory design of technologies for mental health is placed right at the start of the development process. A third case study accompanies the development of prototypes designed to improve the diagnosis of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant pathogens and antibiotic stewardship globally.
Vision
Building Ethical and Equitable Health Technologies through Collaboration
Through trans- and interdisciplinary research, we aim to develop, test, and explore technologies that enable communities, respect cultural contexts, and align with ethical principles of governance and equity within the global health landscape. For each of our case study we envision:
- Bottom-up design for mental wellbeing: Focus on users’ needs, local understandings of mental wellbeing, and cultural contexts to guide the design and development of appropriate technologies.
- Real-life prototype testing: Use living laboratories to test technologies in everyday community settings, considering not only technical performance but also how they are actually used in real-life conditions.
- Broader health technology assessment: Expand traditional health assessment tools (such as HTA) to evaluate vaccine implementation by including economic, infrastructural, and behavioral factors, providing a more comprehensive understanding of technology adoption or rejection.
Towards more equitable partnerships in Global Health
We aspire to significantly contribute to advancing equitable partnerships in global health and commit to researching jointly as a trusted partner.
Strengthen international relationships through equitable partnerships.
Promote collaborative research by recognizing international partners as Principal Investigators.
Build strong networks among research partners, universities, and public health institutions.
Support long-term partnerships based on equality, co-development, and shared benefits.