This module is designed for those with an interest in understanding, developing and evaluating infectious disease digital health interventions and surveillance using mobile communication devices from the individual to the population level globally. Such health technologies are often targeted at people with a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences in diverse settings, and there are many factors that need to be taken in to account when thinking about, proposing, designing, or evaluating these technologies, such as impact on existing service delivery, usage of limited resources, security of systems, and maintenance of personal privacy. There is also a pressing need to think about ways to link emerging diagnostic technologies in this field with care pathways and surveillance systems to facilitate early detection and interventions, and to provide appropriate and adequate support to users.

By the end of the module students should be able to:

Describe how digital health devices are being used to deliver healthcare for infectious diseases across a range of countries and settings.
	Articulate a basic understanding of the key aspects, and different approaches that can be employed, in the development and evaluation of digital health interventions.
	Describe the challenges surrounding the development, evaluation and implementation of digital health interventions.
	Outline the importance of taking user-centred, service delivery, and population level approaches to digital health interventions.
	Outline the potential of novel diagnostics delivered via mobile phones and how they may impact on service delivery, and transmission dynamics.
	Articulate an understanding of the issues surrounding regulation, accreditation and ethics of digital health interventions.
	Describe how m-Health interventions may enhance surveillance and how this, and other big data applications, can inform public health interventions.
	Critically assess the limitations of digital health, including the potential for digital health interventions to increase health inequality, within different populations.
	Understand the challenges and benefits of interdisciplinary research.
You will learn through a combination of teaching, self-directed reading, and group work. Interactive lectures will be combined with tutorials and group discussion. Tutors within the Institute of Global Health and Department of Computer Science will carry out the bulk of teaching, but external lecturers/speakers may also be employed.

Readings for this module will include:

Budd, J., Miller, B.S., Manning, E.M. et al. Digital technologies in the public-health response to COVID-19. Nat Med 26, 1183–1192 (2020).
	Wood, C.S., Thomas, M.R., Budd, J. et al. Taking connected mobile-health diagnostics of infectious diseases to the field. Nature 566, 467–474 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-0956-2.
	Marent B, Henwood F, Darking M, EmERGE Consortium. Development of an mHealth platform for HIV care: gathering user perspectives through co-design workshops and interviews. JMIR mHealth and uHealth. 2018;6(10):e184.

	Forrest, J.I., Wiens, M., Kanters, S., Nsanzimana, S., Lester, R.T. and Mills, E.J., 2015. Mobile health applications for HIV prevention and care in Africa. Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS, 10(6), pp.464-471.
	
	
	Milinovich, G.J., Magalhães, R.J.S. and Hu, W., 2015. Role of big data in the early detection of Ebola and other emerging infectious diseases. The Lancet Global Health, 3(1), pp.e20-e21.