Digital health & social psychology I

HUM-423 / 3 crédits

Enseignant: Vacat .

Langue: Anglais

Remark: Une seule inscription à un cours SHS+MGT autorisée. En cas d'inscriptions multiples elles seront toutes supprimées sans notification.

Summary

Does more data mean better health? Drawing on health and social psychology, this course questions the biomedical model as socially situated, questioning whether the promises of digital health to improve wellbeing are supported by the research behind them.

Content

The course examines the social psychology of health, questioning the taken-for-granted idea that health is simply a matter of accurate measurement and individual knowledge.

The course spans dominant approaches to health in psychology, before moving to digital health technologies. Topics include the rise of self-tracking wearables (e.g. baby monitors, health apps, fitness trackers), the staging of health and wellbeing on social media, and the social determinants of health.

During the autumn semester, we will cover key concepts in health and social psychology. Students work in teams to review the scientific literature surrounding a digital health technology (for instance, a wearable device or a health app), drawing on both engineering-oriented and SHS-oriented sources.

During the spring semester, students' teams analyse how it is portrayed in everyday life (for instance, how it is marketed by companies or discussed on social media) drawing on qualitative methods taught in class. They will create an individual piece of science communication articulating findings from autumn literature review and spring project.

 

 

Keywords

Health psychology, social psychology, digital technologies, health, wellbeing

 

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, the student must be able to:

  • Demonstrate the difference between post-positivist models of health and social constructionist approaches, and identify the assumptions underlying each
  • Assess / Evaluate the assumption that more measurement or more data necessarily produces better health, and explain why this assumption is philosophically and socially situated rather than neutral

Transversal skills

  • Communicate effectively with professionals from other disciplines.
  • Demonstrate the capacity for critical thinking
  • Access and evaluate appropriate sources of information.

Teaching methods

-      Lectures introducing key concepts and case studies

-      In-class and out-of-class activities

-      Consultations with lecturers

-      Literature review workshop

 

 

Expected student activities

-      Attend lectures and participate in discussions

-      Read and critically evaluate scientific material

-      Review literature on a chosen digital health technology

-      Compare engineering-oriented and SHS-oriented sources

-      Complete practical assignments

 

 

Supervision

Office hours No
Assistant.e.s No
Forum No

Resources

Moodle Link

Prerequisite for

Digital health & social psychology II

 

Dans les plans d'études

  • Semestre: Automne
  • Nombre de places: 60
  • Forme de l'examen: Pendant le semestre (session d'hiver)
  • Matière examinée: Digital health & social psychology I
  • Cours: 2 Heure(s) hebdo x 14 semaines
  • Projet: 1 Heure(s) hebdo x 14 semaines
  • Type: obligatoire

Semaine de référence

Cours connexes

Résultats de graphsearch.epfl.ch.