Witten/Herdecke University wants to decisively advance research in the field of digital health applications

The use of digital technologies in the health care system, such as health apps or fitness trackers, is increasing rapidly worldwide. [1] These digital health solutions are intended to positively influence healthcare in the sense of digital health - be it by promoting healthy behavioural changes (e.g. more physical activity), managing chronic diseases or more efficient communication and information transfer. Prof Dr Theresa Sophie Busse deals with the opportunities and challenges of such digital interventions in her research at Witten/Herdecke University (UW/H); she has now been appointed to the Junior Professorship of Digital Health.

Customised digital solutions for healthcare

Theresa Sophie Busse investigates the user-friendliness of digital interventions, their acceptance and their use in healthcare. In doing so, she includes the perspectives of patients, their relatives and professionals from various healthcare professions. The aim of her work is to develop digital applications in such a way that they are optimally tailored to the needs of users and at the same time strengthen their digital health literacy.

Particular attention is paid to the question of how design, user-friendliness and added value interact in order to integrate digital solutions effectively and sustainably into healthcare. The aim is to create applications that make a positive contribution to healthcare in the long term.

Teaching with a focus on ethics and sustainability

In her teaching, Theresa Sophie Busse places particular emphasis on the diversity of digitalisation in healthcare, user-centred technology development and the ethical challenges associated with digitalisation and the desired digital transformation of healthcare. It addresses topics such as the impact of the climate crisis on healthcare and professional ethics in the health care system. It combines theory and practice and promotes a critical examination of current developments in the field of digital healthcare. She attaches particular importance to the training of ethically reflective behaviour in the context of justice and sustainability.

[1]Frontiers | The promise of digital healthcare technologies