This page summarizes the stated goals and projects of Technologies for Public Health, a Specialised Group of the Swiss Society for Public Health. For more information on the activities of specialised groups, please browse our web sites.
Objectives
The overall objective of the Technologies for Public Health Working Group is to support the interdisciplinary network of public health experts, technology developers and enthusiasts, researchers, health professionals, and working groups of the Swiss Society for Public Health (“Society”) by:
Our members are working on various initiatives and publications. Currently our focus is on developing the following topics:
Research agenda
To map the current technology-related public health research in Switzerland, and identify potential evidence gap at the intersection of Data, Tools and Platforms, we are conducting a survey of the public health community.
Collaboration platform
An online collaboration platform allows us to follow up on the discussions and on the projects outside the regular meetings, where members of the working group can contribute any time, or subscribe for mobile or e-mail notifications. Through modern tools on this platform, we are directly supporting and discussing technology questions with other groups in the association, while also creating an appropriate environment to discuss technology-focused issues such as social media addiction or device safety.
Online presence
Behind the scenes of public-health.ch is an information aggregator which collects data from feeds and partner databases, presenting web visitors with current News, Events and Jobs. A sophisticated engine helps the administrative team to organize and recommend information to the community. We are interested to see such information validation channels promoted and improved both for directly promoting public health topic, as well as for addressing issues of diversity and tolerance, combating spam and fake news, and supporting safe, critical public discourse.
At time of writing, the group has about 20 members from diverse disciplines (students and post-docs, medical professionals, technical specialists), and institutions from across the country. We are committed to spending at least 15 minutes per month each on checking activities and news in online platforms.
Meetings will be organized on a regular basis, about once every quarter, and can be attended in person or through online teleconferencing. The coordinating role in the group is jointly held by Oleg Lavrovsky and Vasileios Nittas.
To join the group, select the Technologies option when applying for membership to the Society, or contact the administration if you already are a current member in good standing.
The founding group’s first meeting was held on the 16th of April 2018 in a teleconference. The group’s scope and plans were presented in a meeting of the leaders of Working Groups in September. At this meeting the decision to support the initiative was confirmed. The group continued to meet and exchange information. At the Swiss Public Health Conference (SPHC) on November 7, 2018 we welcomed additional members, and launched a collaboration platform to exchange information within the group and the association.
Following this initial activity and the sustained interest from our first members, the specialized group (Fachgruppe / Groupe specialisé) was officially ratified by the Swiss Society for Public Health and started formally accepting members in early 2019. This document outlines our objectives, membership and projects, according to the guidelines stipulated in the Fachgruppen-Reglement / Règlement pour les groupes spécialisés.
Yearly reports can be found at public-health.ch/aktivitäten/fachgruppen/technologien