Design@Large | Future Prospects in Health Equity and Tech Innovation

There is increasing awareness that health disparities are largely a result of the socioeconomic position in which you are born, the housing and neighborhood where you reside, and the accessibility of educational and job opportunities. These are known as the social and structural determinants of health. By the time a person arrives at a hospital, their health outcome or their chance of survival may have already been pre-determined. Can technological advances in health devices and health-care delivery mitigate the social and structural determinants of health and eliminate disparities? New design and innovations such as smart homes, wearable health monitoring devices, telehealth, artificial intelligence to analyze patient data, and video games to treat mental health are redefining how individuals take control of their own health and how they engage with health care providers.
This Design@Large will address issues related to health equity and the role that technology plays in shaping health outcomes. Join us on the 2 nd floor of the Design and Innovation Building from 4-5pm on May 18th for a discussion with Ninez A. Ponce, Professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health’s Department of Health Policy and Management, Tavae Samuelu, the Executive Director of Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC), Camille Nebeker, Director of UC San Diego Research Ethics Program, and Christopher Longhurst, the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Digital Officer at UC San Diego Health.
Following Design@Large, the Design Lab will be hosting a showcase of Health Technology Designs from 5-6:30pm on the 3 rd floor of the Design and Innovation Building. Faculty, researchers, and students will offer demonstrations of innovate health technology designs. Learn about digital mental health, assisted surgery using virtual reality, how smart phones can be adapted to become blood pressure monitors, how indigenous people have been at the forefront of health innovation for centuries, and much more!