Centre for the Study of Regional Development
School of Social Sciences, JNU
invites you all to a seminar on
Connected Technologies for “Smarter” Geographical Health Research
by
Dr. Debarchana Ghosh
Associate Professor, Geography
University of Connecticut
Date: January 09, 2018, 3:00 pm
Venue: Cartographic Lab, CSRD, SSS III (Ist Floor)
Abstract
Cities and communities around the world are in a new era of transformational change, in which their inhabitants and the surrounding built and natural environments are increasingly connected by smart technologies. Concurrently, communities continue to undergo substantial changes. Some of those changes lead to new constructive opportunities while others are disruptive. In such a paradigm shift, the latest connected technologies such as smart phones, tablets, mobile apps, touch screens, sensor wearables, electronic pill boxes, radiofrequency identification, telemedicine, clinical decision support, social media, and Geographical Positioning System (GPS), are changing the nature of healthcare. Further, the exponential developments in geospatial technologies (GPS and mobile devices) and the deluge of spatiotemporal data are enabling understanding healthcare through a new multidimensional lens, that has been characterized as a “Spatial Turn in Health Research”. These technologies are altering the scope of access to healthcare, delivery of services, utilization of preventive and treatment services, and adherence to treatment. From a research perspective, these changes must be explored by taking into account innovations and opportunities but also possible unintended consequences of connected technologies, which may include security of information, privacy, and autonomy. In my talk, I will highlight findings and challenges of research projects where connected and smart technologies such as GPS, images, mobile apps, cell phones, smart pill boxes, and social media were used for improving measurement and analysis of awareness, accessibility, exposure to risks and disease, neighborhoods, and adherence to treatment. Projects were selected primarily from my own research and few from other health geographers in the community.
Brief Profile of the Speaker : Dr. Debarchana Ghosh has a Ph.D. in Geography from University of Minnesota, a MPhil in Population Studies and Masters in Regional and Urban Development from Jawaharlal Nehru University, India. With significant experience working on urban health issues from an interdisciplinary approach, Dr. Ghosh is also a Principal Investigator of the Institute on Collaboration for Health Intervention and Policy, co-director of mHealth/ehealth research interest group, and affiliated with Yale University Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS. As a health geographer, Debs’ research and teaching are primarily focused on the reciprocal relationship between ‘place’ and health, where place is a multidimensional unit, connecting people (vulnerable populations), things (facilitators and barriers), and environment. Dr. Ghosh informally describes herself as someone who is driven to understand how health is affected by anything outside of pills, needles, and scalpels. More recently, Dr. Ghosh is working in interdisciplinary-collaborative teams including academic colleagues and community based organizations (CBO’s) such as Hartford Food Alliance, UConn-Extensions, DC based HIV-CBOs, Yale-New Haven’s Community Health Care Van, Connecticut’s Judicial Branch.
