About the Centre
The Centre for Health, Technologies and Social Practice was established in 2012 to bring together researchers with interests in the intersections on health and technologies in and through social practice. We share interests in empirical research into the development and use of technologies with relevance to health and wellbeing, particularly:
- devices, diagnostics & treatments
- systems, models and metrics
- organisational and practitioner protocols
Our research explores how these technologies respond to and shape understandings and experiences of health broadly conceived, particularly with respect to the organisation, delivery and experience of healthcare, but also with respect to other kinds of social arrangements and infrastructures and cultural practices related to identity and belonging.
The aim of the Centre is to foster comparative empirical research into how technologies of relevance to health are taken up in practice and on their effects on the organisation, delivery and experience of care in the clinic and beyond with the dual objectives of:
Informing policy making regarding the development, implementation and social consequences of technologies and health
– and –
Developing a theory of the intersections of health and technologies as social practice.
Our members include academics, research staff and postgraduates working across:
- Sociology & Social Policy
- Science and Technology Studies
- Healthcare & Health Sciences
- Business Studies
- Engineering
We have expertise in
- Genetics and reproductive medicine
- Implants
- Assistive and inclusive technologies
- Evaluation
- Participatory technologies
We are actively building links with industry, healthcare practitioners and policy makers working in these fields.
Our Centre is primarily a vehicle for building interdisciplinary, regional and international collaborations in order to develop these research interests and ideas, generate joint research and writing projects, and attract research funds and graduate students.
The Centre has a seminar series and organises a range of events and activities for researchers with interests in these areas. We also host a blog where we explore topical issues with relevance to health and technologies through the lense of social practice.
