News
The first volume from the Health, Technology and Society book series will be available in the Summer of 2006.
For further information go to the HTS Book Series page.
Previous News Items
16 March 2006
ESRC Social Science Week: Perspectives and Problems: Innovation in the NHS
A Half Day Seminar for Senior Managers, Practitioners and Researchers has been organised by the Institute of Health Sciences (IHS), the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine (CHSTM) and the ESRC Centre for Research on Innovation and Competition (CRIC) at the University of Manchester as a contribution to the ESRC Social Science Week 2006. More details >>
27 October 2005
IHT Programme Final International Conference
The Programme's final conference was an opportunity for researchers, health practitioners, private sector developers and policymakers to hear about the work of 31 projects covering a broad range of fields including drugs, medical devices, genetics, and telehealth informatics. How do they shape health and health delivery and how are they shaped by those who use them? The meeting asked: Why are some health innovations successful and how do we define success? What effect do new technologies and interventions have on the structuring of delivery, how is their utility and value judged, and how do clinicians, patients, carers and others regard these developments?
For a full report please visit the link More details >>
20 June 2005
IHT at the HTAi Rome
On the 20 and 21 June 2005, the IHT Programme ran a parallel workshop with the Health Technology Assessment International group on International Comparison of IHTs and Social Science and HTA: Opening the Debate on Evaluation.
See link for a full report. More details >>
31 May 2005
Information & Communication Technology & Healthcare Working Group
Andrew Webster, Programme Director, has been asked to join the Royal Society's working group on ICTs in Healthcare.
The aim of the Royal Society's science policy work is to bring the findings of science to bear in influencing national and international policy.
Recent examples can be found in the link for more information More details >>
20 May 2005
Latest copy of IHT Newsletter now available
See box in top right of this page and click on link to Issue 5.
10 May 2005
STATEMENT FROM THE NEW SECRETARY OF STATE FOR HEALTH, PATRICIA HEWITT MP
To read her statement in full please visit the link for more information.
One of Ms Hewitt's last comments is particularly pertinent to the IHT Programme
"As patients and consumers, we are better informed today about our health care than any previous generation. A modern health and social care system has to be completely focussed on the needs of its users...." More details >>
11 April 2005
IHT expertise assists House of Commons
Andrew Webster, Programme Director, was recently special advisor to the House of Commons Select Committee on the 'Use of New Medical Technologies within the NHS'. Carl May (project: Telemedicine and the Future Patient) provided evidence as a witness to the committee and contributed to the fifth report.
Another Programme member, John Abraham (project: Regulation of Innovative Pharmaceuticals), was previously special advisor to the committee for the report on the 'Influence of the Pharmaceutical Industry' and this report is also now available.
To access both reports please see the link for more information. More details >>
07 February 2005
IHT Programme: Final International Conference
The Programme is now in its final year and plans have been put in place for a major conference where its principal results will be explored. This will be an opportunity for researchers, health practitioners, private sector developers and policymakers to hear about the work of 31 projects covering a broad range of fields including drugs, medical devices, genetics, and telehealth informatics. How do they shape health and health delivery and how are they shaped by those who use them? The meeting will ask: Why are some health innovations successful and how do we define success? What effect do new technologies and interventions have on the structuring of delivery, how is their utility and value judged, and how do clinicians, patients, carers and others regard these developments?
This conference comes at an important time: when the results of the UK's Healthcare Industry Task Forces recommendations are being implemented, when the government's two recent White papers on Genetics in the NHS and Public Health set out the priorities for innovation and seek to anticipate long term changes in the character of health, health care and the locus of responsibility for health delivery, and when the House of Commons Health Select Committee's own recommendations on The Use of New Medical Technologies Within the NHS' will be made public.
The meeting will be at Church House, Westminster and we expect about 250 delegates to be attending. An outline of the programme for the day is given below. To register your interest in attending please contact Stephanie Hazel-Gant at sjg11@york.ac.uk or Telephone 01904 433064
For further details about the programme please visit the link below More details >>
20 January 2005
IHT Contributes to Help the Hospices Event
Andrew Webster, IHT Programme Director, gave a presentation at the recent Help the Hospices event on Innovation in Palliative Care.
Andrew's presentation built on the work carried out by the two related projects from the programme i.e. Jane Seymour and David Clark.
To see a report on the event follow the link below. More details >>
17 January 2005
Programme member provides editorial comment for journal on Information, Communication and Society
Flis Henwood from the 'Presenting and Interpreting Health Risks and Benefits' project, along with Ellen Balka, have provided the editorial comment on the Special Issue E-Health: The Use of Information and Communication Technologies in the Communication of Health Information and Advice in Information, Communication and Society, Volume 7, Number 4, 2004 More details >>
22 November 2004
Genetics Revolution on the Radio
BBC Radio 4's 'Today Programme' briefly discussed the so called genetics revolution.
A member of the IHT Programme, Dr Paul Nightingale* can be heard giving his project's view on the situation.
To hear the article please click on the link for more information (takes you to a ram file)
* Project: Impact of Genomics on Innovation in the Pharmaceutical Industry. http://www.york.ac.uk/res/iht/projects/l218252087.htm More details >>
16 November 2004
Report on Annual Meeting now available
please visit the link below for more information More details >>
28 October 2004
Special Issue edited by Flis Henwood from the IHT Programme
A brand new special issue on The Use of Information and Communication Technologies in the Communication of Health Information and Advice has just been released.
See the link below for more information More details >>
26 August 2004
Transitions In HIV Management - New Findings from Paul Flowers et al.
The latest research Findings for this project has led to an external reviewer remarking that....
� This study will be the most authoritative voice in the UK on the impact of IHTs upon the management of HIV � .
Please visit the 'more details' link below to read about the key results from this project. More details >>
12 August 2004
DH Genetics White Paper and New Funding: the IHT Programme's Recommendations
In light of recent announcements from the DH, this summer, for research and implementation measures in regard to genetics it is timely that the IHT Programme's own recommendations about this should be published for the first time.
Please visit the link below for more details More details >>
03 August 2004
Report: Healthy Innovations Workshop
A report by Andrew Webster, Programme Director is now available on the IHT website via the link below for more details.
The workshop was organised by members of Stan Metcalfe's team http://www.york.ac.uk/res/iht/projects/l218252056.htm
and John Pickstone's team http://www.york.ac.uk/res/iht/projects/l218252045.htm More details >>
12 July 2004
Latest IHT News letter
..is now available - please use the link in the top right of this page
09 July 2004
Delivering and Experiencing Innovative Health Technologies: Users � Perspectives
IHT 3rd Annual Meeting, Hamilton House, London
The last annual conference of the Innovative Health Technologies Programme focused on the policy issues raised by IHTs. The 2004 Annual meeting explores how those whose task is to deliver IHTs cope with the demands and opportunities they have and those who, as patients or users, experience IHTs in clinical or non-clinical settings. The target audience is health care practitioners such as nurses, midwives, health visitors, GPs, counsellors, pharmacists, and PCT managers, as well as patient charities, health consumer groups and national 'expert patient' bodies and organisations. More details >>
14 January 2004
Project Research Findings now available
The first batch of findings is now available from the "Findings" option on the menu.
Additional results will appear on the IHT website as and when they become available.
Or click here: More details >>
26 November 2003
Telelemedicine and the ?Future Patient??
Carl May?s project team ?Telelemedicine and the ?Future Patient??? are conducting research about the role of the 'Future patient' in the context of telehealthcare & telemedicine. They are particularly interested in examining issues of innovation, risk and governance in the development of policy and practice in the application of these technologies.
To permit a greater number of individuals to contribute their views to this study, they have designed an online questionnaire which takes just 5-10 minutes to complete. Through the questionnaire located at the link below, they are inviting views about the development and use of telehealthcare from as wider range of perspectives as possible, including health care professionals, policy makers, researchers, system developers and suppliers, patient and consumer advocacy groups, patients themselves, and the general public. To access the questionnaire, please click on the ?More Details? link below: More details >>
19 November 2003
Exploratory Workshop on Regulation and Governance of Human Tissue Engineered Products in Europe
The ESF has granted funds to Julie Kent (Alex Faulkner's project) to run a workshop next year.
For further details see the link below and scroll down to "News" More details >>
10 November 2003
Report on the Second IHT Annual Meeting
Report now available.
To go there click on EVENTS in the left hand menu, then Reports/Link.
21 October 2003
Taking hormone replacement therapy - Women and health professionals should make the decision jointly and review it periodically
For further information on this recent editorial by Frances Griffiths (IHTs at Women's Midlife project) please visit the link below.... More details >>
15 October 2003
Transforming Childbirth: Women, Midwives and the Politics of Reproduction
Jane Sandall (Social Implications of One Stop First Trimester Prenatal Screening) will be giving her inaugural lecture at Kings College, London on Thursday 20 November. More details >>
04 October 2003
MEPs vote to ban stem cell research
European MPs have voted against allowing scientists to carry out research on stem cells taken from embryos. The vote by members of the European Parliament (MEPs) could now see this type of research outlawed across the EU.
To see the full article follow the more details link below. More details >>
24 September 2003
NHS DIRECT largely used by the middle classes
Press Release from the ESRC about the Gerry Hanlon's IHT project DHS Direct: Empowerment or Dependency?
Please see the link for more information..... More details >>
01 September 2003
DH R&D National Primary Care Career Scientist Awards 2003
The Department of Health Research and Development has awarded Dr Frances Griffiths the above award. This is a five-year fellowship for developing a programme of research on the theme � Complexity and Health Care � and draws on her background in medicine and sociology. One of the streams of research proposed builds directly on the Programme project for which she is PI: IHTs at women � s midlife: theory and diversity among women and � experts � .
24 June 2003
Millions for genetic technology
A major expansion of the use of genetic technology to tackle medical problems has been announced by Health Secretary John Reid.
See link below for more details.... More details >>
02 May 2003
'DIY genetic tests' approved by Human Genetics Commission
The IHT Programme has a number of projects that are exploring issues surrounding genetic screening, diagnostics and tests. The announcement (see below) that the HGC is to approve � DIY tests � raises questions about risk, governance and the social management of health, all core themes of the Programme. The specific question of tests available via the market is considered in detail by Nick Fox � s IHT project More details >>
06 April 2003
Devices and Designs: Medical Innovation in Historical Perspective
Manchester, July 11-13, 2003
Co-organised by Julie Anderson from John Pickstone's Project team.
Nine IHT Programme Projects* will be presenting at the forthcoming summer conference of the Society for the Social History of Medicine in association with the ESRC and Wellcome Trust.
* Pickstone, Faulkner, Martin, Griffiths, Henwood, May, Flowers, Cullen and Clark
Provisional programme - follow link for More Details More details >>
06 April 2003
New BMJ article: Human Tissue Engineering Products-drugs or devices
Alex Faulkner and team have just had published a new article in the BMJ (see link to more details below). The article is important in that it illustrates the issue of the problems relating to the classification of technology boundaries, and the implications this has for regulatory oversight. More details >>
03 April 2003
(GEST) Governance, Environment, Science & Technology Cluster
Reflecting the growing need for cross-fertilisation of research in increasingly complex social systems, a number of Programmes supported by the ESRC recently established a new cluster related to science, technology, the environment and culture. The cluster intends to build links where appropriate and develop joint activities that can be built through existing and new resources. The cluster is made up of the following ESRC investments located at these URL:
E-Society http://www.london.edu/e-society/index.html
Sustainable Technologies http://www.sustainabletechnologies.ac.uk/home.htm
Cultures of Consumption http://www.consume.bbk.ac.uk/
Science in Society http://sbs-xnet.sbs.ox.ac.uk/scisoc/
These links can also be found on the IHT Links page - see further details below More details >>
16 January 2003
Urgent action needed on illegal internet sale of medicine
In today � s Society Guardian James Meikle reports on how urgent action is needed on the illegal internet sale of medicine. (see link to more details).
This is a key area currently under scrutiny by Nick Fox � s IHT Phase II project on � Consumerism, Information and Drug Prescribing Governance � . In the UK, the availability of most pharmaceutical drugs is at the discretion of healthcare professionals. Recent innovations in information access, the rise of consumerist attitudes to health care, and the global market have challenged this hegemony.
Please visit the project website for more information (links to projects are on the menu to the left) More details >>
17 December 2002
Faith Healing
Extracts from the article by Wendy Moore in the Guardian Magazine 15.12.02
To read the full article, please follow the link for More Details
The � placebo effect � has mystified doctors for years. Numerous studies have shown that fake pills, dummy therapies, and even simulated surgery, work as well as the genuine article for many illnesses. A landmark report in the US in 1955 found that one in three people will recover from a range of conditions simply through taking placebos.
In June, doctors in Houston reported in the New England Journal of Medicine that patients with arthritis of the knee were successfully treated just as well with pretend surgery � just small incisions into the knee � as with one of the most common operations for the condition.
But Professor Jos Kleijnen, director of the NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (University of York), is convinced that the placebo effect holds vital secrets which could be applied to general healthcare.
Like most scientists, he believes the placebo response is an act of faith. Patients unknowingly given fake medicines get better because they believe they will. But exactly what prompts such belief in our medical system, and how this faith converts into a healing power, remains a rich seam for investigation. � ..maybe something for future research? More details >>
13 December 2002
Innovation in Pain Management
Introduction to History of Twentieth Century Medicine Group Witness Seminar � Thursday 12 December, 2002 The Wellcome Building, London
Professor David Clark* and Dr Jane Seymour** chaired and hosted a seminar on Innovation in Pain Management. The meeting was well attended with delegates being informed on a wide variety of topics described below.
Brief introduction by chair of meeting: Professor David Clark
Brief historical introduction: Contours of pain relief 1945-2000 Dr Marcia Meldrum
The legacy of John Bonica and the concept of � total pain � Professor Vittorio Ventafridda & Dame Cicely Saunders
Debates about the use of opioids Dr Robert Twycross & Dr Kathleen Foley
Pain research: concepts, mechanisms and management Professor Geoff Hanks, Professor Duncan Vere & Professor Michael Bond
Pain as a public health issue and the WHO pain ladder Professor Jan Stjernsward & Dr Mark Swerdlow
Barriers to pain relief around the world Dr David Joranson
* Clark Phase II PI; Innovation in Cancer Pain Relief: Technologies, Ethics and Practices
** Seymour Phase I PI; Technology and Natural Death: a Study of Older People More details >>
11 October 2002
IHTs in a Special Issue of Health Risk and Society
Seven projects from the IHT Programme have contributed to a Special Issue of the Journal Health Risk and Society. They cover the themes of -
Risk Calculus and the New Genetics
New "Technologies of Risk"
IHTs and the Regulation of Risk
The issue also includes an Editorial by IHT Programme Director Prof Andrew Webster on - "Risk and Innovative Health Technologies: Calculation, Interpretation and Regulation"
See More Details for further information More details >>
04 October 2002
The Regulation of the Pharmaceutical Industry: a new book
John Abraham, Professor of Sociology at the University of Sussex and Helen Lawton Smith have just completed editing a new book - 'The Regulation of the Pharmaceutical Industry', due out later this year. If you would like to see details of the book and/or order a copy, follow the "more details" link below, print out the pdf file and follow the instructions. More details >>
03 October 2002
The Regulation of the Pharmaceutical Industry: a new book
John Abraham, Professor of Sociology at the University of Sussex and Helen Lawton Smith have just completed editing a new book - 'The Regulation of the Pharmaceutical Industry', due out later this year. If you would like to see details of the book and/or order a copy, follow the "more details" link below, print out the pdf file and follow the instructions. More details >>
03 October 2002
The Regulation of the Pharmaceutical Industry: a new book due out
John Abraham, Professor of Sociology at the University of Sussex and Helen Lawton Smith have just completed editing a new book - 'The Regulation of the Pharmaceutical Industry', due out later this year. If you would like to see details of the book and/or order a copy, follow the "more details" link below, print out the pdf file and follow the instructions. More details >>
03 October 2002
'The Regulation of the Pharmaceutical Industry': a new book due out later this year
John Abraham, Professor of Sociology at the University of Sussex and Helen Lawton Smith have just completed editing a new book - 'The Regulation of the Pharmaceutical Industry', due out later this year. If you would like to see details of the book and/or order a copy, follow the "more details" link below, print out the pdf file and follow the instructions. More details >>
19 August 2002
UK's first Citizens Council being established by NICE
In addition to the further information in the pdf file linked below (see "more details") you may wish to have a look at the latest edition of the IHT Newsletter (linked above) where there has already been commentary from Andrew Webster, Programme Director, on the way in which more people are calling for greater lay involvement in evaluating new health technologies...
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is establishing the country's first Citizens Council to advise its decision-makers. A recruitment campaign to find 30 ordinary members of the public in England and Wales who will consider issues from a public perspective starts today. Speaking about the formation of the Citizens Council, Chairman of NICE, Professor Sir Michael Rawlins said: " The primary role of NICE is to improve patient care. We are doing it in two key ways, firstly by the appraisal of individual technologies to encourage the NHS to uptake those that are clinically and cost effective, and secondly by the development of clinical guidelines on the management of individual conditions. The involvement of patients and carers in NICE's decision-making has always been extremely important, but it has been a long-term aim of ours to involve the wider public in our work. The Kennedy report following the Bristol Inquiry only served to reinforce the importance of involving the public in NHS decision-making. The establishment of a Citizens Council is designed to provide a backdrop of public opinion against which we and the independent groups that advise us can make their recommendations". NICE has appointed an independent specialist company, with a track record in recruiting and running Citizens juries, to recruit 30 members of the public from diverse sections of the community to join the Council. " We are seeking people with diverse backgrounds who have fresh and inquiring minds and, above all, good commonsense values," said Ruth Turner of Vision 21, the company conducting the recruitment campaign. "It is not even necessary that people will have taken part in anything similar before. We will be selecting people on the basis of their potential, rather than their track record." Andrew Dillon, NICE Chief Executive, added: "This is a really exciting development for the Institute and the NHS. We expect this Council to provide NICE with advice that reflects the public's perspective on what are often challenging issues. The Council will not include people who work in the NHS or in private medicine. Similarly those working in the Department of Health, the National Assembly for Wales health teams, the healthcare industries or in groups or organisations supporting patient or industry groups, for example lobbying organisations, will be excluded. We want the Council to be a forum where ordinary members of the public are able to have their say. "Application packs can be obtained either by telephoning 0161839 0385, e-mailing Ruth Turner rt@visiontwentyone.co.uk or by visiting the NICE http://www.nice.org.uk/ web site. More details >>
13 August 2002
IHT Newsletters now available online
Both the previous and latest issue of the IHT Newsletter is now available online in pdf format. See the links at the top of this page.
For a free copy of acrobat reader follow the link below for further information. More details >>
10 August 2002
The Regulation of the Pharmaceutical Industry
John Abraham, Professor of Sociology at the University of Sussex and Helen Lawton Smith have just completed editing a new book - 'The Regulation of the Pharmaceutical Industry', due out later this year. If you would like to see details of the book and/or order a copy, follow the "more details" link below, print out the pdf file and follow the instructions.
http://www.york.ac.uk/res/iht/images/misc/AbrahamBook2002.pdf
05 August 2002
Report on the IHT first Annual Meeting
To see the full report please visit the link below More details >>
19 July 2002
Phase II Project Info
Phase II project info now available online. Please visit the Project pages and scroll down to the Phase II projects for further information.
15 July 2002
Innovating Medicine: medical technologies in the social sciences
Innovating Medicine: medical technologies in the social sciences
University of Manchester, July 11-13, 2003.
Call for papers
Modern medicine and medical technologies are inseparable. The rhetoric of medical progress continues to dominate media announcements of discoveries such as new drugs for AIDS patients or potential cures for cancer. The use of technologies such as hip replacements and artificial lenses, meanwhile, has become routine practice in industrialised countries. Since the 1960s, however, new medical technologies have increasingly been seen not merely as opportunities but containing elements of risk. The recent debates surrounding therapeutic cloning are but one example.
While some think that the 'golden age' of modern medicine may be over, universities make great efforts to connect the production of knowledge with the production of commodities. It has become fashionable to think about new technologies as innovations, as products for a market. But how new is this perspective, and how specific to current medical debates? We invite abstracts on medical technologies not only in a narrow sense - new diagnostic and therapeutic tools, prostheses, kits and apparatuses - but also in a wider sense: the material cultures of hospitals and techno-medicine, that leave their mark on medical culture. We are interested not only in the social shaping of technologies, but also of the responses to technologies.
We would be interested in abstracts that address issues including:
- the material cultures of medicine and medical science - the management of medical systems and practices - discourses of innovation and progress - national systems of innovation and marketing - medical devices and tools - diagnostic and therapeutic technologies - the transfer of technologies into different cultural contexts - prostheses - pharmaceutical innovation - reproductive technologies - historical aspects of research and development - risk - industry-university relationships - innovators and the process of innovation - policy and technical assessment - experimentation and ethical considerations - governance - medical technology in non-western countries - medical technology and knowledge transfer - intellectual property and patenting - social implications of technology
Please send your abstract of no more than 500 words by December 1, 2002, to Dr Julie Anderson or Dr Carsten Timmermann, Wellcome Unit and Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of Manchester, Maths Tower, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL. Email: julie.p.anderson@man.ac.uk or carsten.timmermann@man.ac.uk Phone: +44-161-275 275 5947 or +44-161-275 275 7950 Fax: +44-161-275 275 5699 Early expressions of interest would be appreciated. Please contact us if you would like to organise a session. More details >>
24 June 2002
Make-believe medicine
While some of the IHT projects are exploring technologies that emerge from the lab, this particular item suggests that some of the most effective are those that have no technical basis to them - the placebo. Whether the placebo can act as a generic model for non-drug based health technologies might be worth pursuing! It certainly raises intriguing questions for health technology assessment and evidence-based medicine... More details >>
23 May 2002
Who owns genetic information?
One hundred scientists, policymakers, and members of the public are to be questioned by academics at the University of York about their perceptions of the ownership and control of genetic research.
Work on the genetic aspects of many medical disorders and diseases has raised concerns about gene patenting and about the possibility of discrimination by insurance companies and employers on the grounds of a person's genetic history. The ownership of genetic information has become a crucial issue for debate.
Dr Anne Kerr and Dr Richard Tutton of the Department of Sociology at York, together with Dr Sarah Cunningham-Burley of the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships at the University of Edinburgh, will look at how people consider they or others 'own' and use their genetic information, and how their views are influenced by feelings about social responsibility, or citizenship.
Dr Kerr said: "These issues have been thrown into sharp relief by the 'Biobank UK' initiative that will collect tissue samples, medical records and lifestyle data from 500,000 volunteers."
(The Wellcome Trust, The Medical Research Council, and the Department of Health have provided an initial � 45million for a study of genes, environment and health.)
She added: "We will hold a series of focus groups with scientists, clinicians, representatives from the pharmaceutical and insurance industries, policy-making bodies, and different members of the public.
"Focus groups have been found to be highly effective when they involve lay people and professionals because personal experience can be combined with debate on the wider social and scientific issues.
"We plan to convene groups including health charities, molecular and clinical geneticists, representatives from the pharmaceutical and insurance industries, and support and community groups.
"We will explore the relationships between genetic researchers and the people they are researching. We want to know if people think about this as purely a health matter, or a social matter. What are people's perceptions of responsibility to society with regard to tissue donation, for example?
"The work should be of particular interest to policy-makers grappling with the detail of genetic regulation, patenting or the establishment of Biobank UK.
Article also in the York Evening Press - see link More details >>
30 April 2002
Chair of PAC, Mary Warnock, examines the 'right to die'
In today's Guardian (30/04/02) Chair of the IHT Programme Advisory Committee, Baroness Mary Warnock, explores the current debate over the right to die, the technologies that might keep people alive and how the ethical and legal issues surrounding euthanasia need to be clarified. These issues relate to two linked projects on the Programme that, though not dealing with the right to die as a legal question are exploring the issue of natural death in hospice settings and, most importantly the management of pain. See the Phase 1 project by Seymour and the new Phase II project by Clark (coming shortly) More details >>
29 April 2002
History of the Wheelchair goes to Canada
Dr Brian Woods will be presenting "A Concise History of the Wheelchair Under the British State" at the Society for the History of Technology conference in October 2002, Toronto, Canada.
To read his accepted abstract follow the link and go to the News section at the bottom of the page... More details >>
29 April 2002
The Programme welcomes a new Programme Advisory Committee Member
The IHT Programme's Advisory Committee has been strengthened by the arrival of a new member, Nikki Ratcliff, Senior Policy Advisor for Health at the Consumers' Association. Nikki has worked in health policy for some years and is a member of the Department of Health's UK National Screening Committee, the Medical Devices Agency's Review Group on Silicone Gel Breast Implants and the ESRC's Genomics Survey Panel. The CA has identified health technologies as one of the key areas for policy development. At the same time, we are delighted that Clara Mackay remains with us, now representing Breast Cancer Care charity as its Director of Policy and Research. This is an important link for the PAC into a key patient organisation and one we hope will enable us to disseminate results of the research through Clara's network.
13 March 2002
End in sight
Getting older people to talk about death can help them face difficult decisions in the future. James Meikle reports on Jane Seymour and group's project "Technology and Natural Death: A Study of Older People".
Please see the link to the SocietyGuardian below More details >>
09 February 2002
Launch of the Institute of Health, University of Warwick
Tuesday, 10 September 2002 from 3.00 - 700pm
The Institute of Health was established in 2001, with the aim of improving the understanding of health issues through the application of high quality, multi-disciplinary and collaborative social science research to the problems of the day. The Institute promotes the transfer of research outcomes into professional practice through continuing professional study. A range of short courses and specialist postgraduate programmes for health professionals is available within the University. New courses, which address multi-professional needs in the context of the new National Service Frameworks are under way.
Participants are invited to attend on 10th September to join in workshops and view displays showcasing new developments in health research and in courses for health professionals. Help celebrate a successful first year of collaborative effort by all associated with the Institute of Health.
Further information from: Nihid Iqbal Institute of Health University of Warwick Coventry CV4 7AL Email: Nihid.Iqbal@warwick.ac.uk
For details of our Research Development Groups, NHS/Academic Collaborative Groups, conferences, seminars and CPD courses, as well as general enquiries, please contact: url: www.healthatwarwick.warwick.ac.uk email: enquiries@warwick.ac.uk telephone: + 44 (0) 24 7657 4098/7 Director, Professor Gillian Hundt
Institute Of Health Launch: Provisional Programme
3:00pm Registration and refreshments will continue throughout the afternoon. o View posters and displays in the lounge and workshop areas showcasing health research and CPD. o Meet colleagues and fellow researchers both internal and external to the University. o Discuss the University's new system of short, modular postgraduate studies designed to meet the needs of health practitioners.
4.00-5:00pm Workshop sessions Sessions will be run in parallel in seminar rooms. Participants are welcome to 'drop-in' to several sessions. A detailed, final programme will be provided on the day.
Profiles of multi-disciplinary research Each session will profile several strands of current research. There will be opportunities for discussion and networking with colleagues with similar interests.
Inequalities in Health and Access to Care Chairs: Ms Clare Blackburn and Prof Nick Spencer
Medical Education Chair: Prof Stewart Peterson
User Involvement Chair: Dr Jonathan Tritter
NHS/Academic Collaborative Groups Chair: Prof Janet Powell
Continuing Professional Development There will be a range of briefings and 'taster' sessions illustrating new developments in short courses and postgraduate professional programmes for health practitioners. Biological Sciences, Diabetes Care, Primary Health Care, Mental Health, Child Health, Epidemiology, Social Work, Social and Health Care Law
5.00-6.00pm Keynote lecture: Global Issues, Local Voices in Health Professor Gillian Hundt, Director of the Institute of Health and Professor of Social Sciences in Health
16 January 2002
Genetics and Health - a Decade of Opportunity
Speech by Rt Hon Alan Milburn MP, Secretary of State for Health.
Mr Alan Milburn announced today the creation of 6 Genetics Knowledge Parks in Newcastle, London, Oxford, Cambridge, the North West and Wales.
Mr Milburn commented... "These new centres of excellence will work together to help ensure Britain remains at the cutting edge of the genetics revolution in order to gain the maximum health benefits for our citizens. The knowledge parks will bring together clinicians, scientists, academics and industrial researchers. They will be centres of clinical and scientific excellence seeking to improve the diagnosis, treatment and counselling of patients. Research will help create successful spin out companies specialising in genetic technologies.
The Genetics Knowledge Parks we are establishing will lead to increased availability of new drugs and treatments. They will extend the range of diagnostic tests for both single and multifactoral gene disorders with this, in turn, leading to the introduction of further screening procedures so that disease progression and treatment can be monitored more effectively. They will develop pharmacogenetic tests for the targeted treatment of patients, not only getting the right medicine to the right person but also reducing the incidence of unwanted side effects. And, perhaps most importantly, the Genetics Knowledge Park network will improve public engagement and education about medical genetics."
To see the full speech please visit the link below.
The IHT projects related to genetics should provide valuable information that could be linked to the work of the Parks. More details >>
06 December 2001
Ammendments to Issue 1 Newsletter
For pages 8 and 9
The URL of the Science in Society Forum has changed to http://www.spsg.org/scisoc/forum/index.html
ESRC Science in Society is now at www.esrc.ac.uk/esrccontent/researchfunding/scisoc.asp
26 November 2001
IHT's at SSSS in Boston MIT!
By Jo-Anne Bichard (Brian Imaging Project)
The IHT program was strongly represented at the 4S (Society for the Social Study of Science) Conference; Fashioning the Future Science Technology and Visions of Progress at the Royal Sonesta Hotel, Cambridge MA on November 1-4 2001.
As Airport security had naturally been stepped up, the fun started before we even left the country. On checking in at Heathrow it was noted that I had a Cuban stamp in my passport, causing a flurry of questions to be asked. The consequence of this was that Simon (who I insisted come with me through this as he is my boss) and I jumped the queues at check in and were in the departure lounge within 20 mins of arriving at Heathrow.
We arrived in Boston at around 6pm local time, checked into the conference hotel and then wandered across the river in search of food. As it was Halloween we came across bands of children 'trick or treating' whilst many houses had their jack o' lanterns proudly displayed.
Wide awake the next morning we went to register for the conference. Name tags in place we met up with Paul Atkinson, Adi Bharadwaj and Kate Featherstone who had arrived a day earlier courtesy of flight upgrades � It was soon time for the first IHT panel and we found our way to the appropriate room.
The session had drawn in about 40 people from the US and other European countries. However, within minutes of Kate Featherstone (Diagnosing Dysmorphology) beginning her paper it became apparent that the OHP was not going to co-operate, by overheating and turning it self off. Kate rose to the occasion in a situation that would have floored the best by carrying on regardless. The following papers from Paul Atkinson (Risky Relations) highlighted the social constructions individual and families have of genetic risk. Paul's paper was followed by Janet Heaton (Methods for involving 'Technology-Dependant' children) who sensitively discussed the questions raised for these children and their families. The final paper of the first session was given by Sally Wyatt (Turned On or Turned Off?..) who critically explored the claims about health information and the internet. All the presentations were delivered with an OHP which had to be consistently turned off after showing every transparency. The irony of this technical hiccup happening at a conference on 'science and technology' was not lost to speakers and audience.
Having checked the OHP was now operational the second session was started by Frances Griffiths (IHT's at Midlife) who reported on the results of the projects initial phase of research concerning HRT technologies. This was followed by Simon Cohn (Re-conceptualising Mental Illness) who, supported by colourful OHP's of various brain scans, discussed de/re-generation of the brain. Lastly Nik Brown (Xenotransplantation) discussed Scientists' notions of the future in this area of transplant technology, supported by informative graphs.
Both panels were well attended and provoked interesting questions regarding observations of IHT's in the UK, as well as disseminate information with international researchers. The presence of the IHT projects therefore helped stimulate debate especially in comparison with similar technologies utilised in other countries.
On Friday Simon and I took the opportunity to visit MIT's research nuclear reactor. This was particularly interesting for us as one of the reactors functions has been it's use in the experimental treatment of certain brain tumours. On the Saturday Simon Nik Brown and myself visited downtown Boston including the Holocaust memorial, a thought provoking space. Whilst in the afternoon Simon and I had the opportunity to hear and meet researchers in the US and mainland Europe who were also assessing the technology of medical scanners.
Whilst walking back to the conference on the Saturday, Simon and I had noticed a TV film crew outside the mall. We paid scant attention, but were later informed that the previous evening a 'suspicious' van had tried to enter the car park and when delayed by the security guard had driven off. The security guard reported seeing bin sealed with gaffer tape through the 'smokey windows' of the van and called the police, who in turn called the FBI. This led to a hunt for the van which was located on the Saturday morning. It seems that the backdrop to American life continues to be one of fear and vulnerability.
Overall the conference was a success, giving us a chance to share some of our observations. Many met interesting and related academics, while the IHT 'crew' got another chance to swap news and progress reports. Simon and myself would like to thank Stephanie and Andrew for their support of our attendance. And finally it was wonderful to socialise with fellow researchers on the Programme again, didn't we talk about a Christmas dinner?
13 October 2001
The economic impact and innovation effects of new health technologies: integrating the economic and social 'value chains'.
Andrew Webster, the Programme Director, was invited to give a paper at the Science & Society, European Molecular Biology Organisation's recent confernece in Heraklion, Crete (October 13-16).
The abstract is available below....
The economic impact and innovation effects of new health technologies: integrating the economic and social 'value chains'.
Professor Andrew Webster, University of York.
This paper discusses the relationship between the development of new health technologies - primarily in the genetics field - and how we are to determine their economic effects. The relation between the economic impact of a technology and its level of technical innovation is indirect inasmuch as a highly innovative technology may be a failure economically, or conversely, one that is mere incremental a shift, highly successful commercially. To explain this we need to understand how markets for new medical technologies are constructed - their 'socio-genesis - and develop a more sophisticated perspective on the relationship between the economic and what we might call the 'social' value chains.
New genetics-based technologies are disturbing both of these value chains so generating considerable uncertainty as to their likely medium to long term economic value and clinical utility. This creates new organisational and delivery problems for health providers, exacerbated by changes in the nature of the European health market itself - through shifts in demographics, regulation, and more complex, distributed innovation system. As a result of these trends, the roles and responsibilities of the institutions and practitioners forming the traditional market for medical technology are changing. The market for emergent technologies presents new opportunities for and constraints on health innovation and the organization and delivery of health services.
19 July 2001
Technology and Natural Death: A study of Older People
Team update
The team has reach the end of phase 1 of the project and have conducted 6 focus groups with 5 groups representing older people in Sheffield. As a result, an enormous amount of data was generated.
The team are in negotiations with another voluntary group to hold a 7th focus group. They have begun preparations for phase 2 in terms of preparing vignette scenarios which they intend to take out to interview. A lot of the data obtained from phase 1 are grounded in the vignettes and the team have 2 interviews confirmed to pilot these with a further 2 in the pipeline.
Jane Seymour, project leader, is also presenting a paper at the British Society of Gerontology Conference at the University of Stirling 31st Aug-2nd Sept 2001.
19 June 2001
CALL FOR IHT SECOND PHASE PROPOSALS
Innovative Health Technologies Research Programme: Call for Full Proposals (Second Phase)
The Economic and Social Research Council is inviting research proposals for projects under the second phase of the above Programme from researchers based at UK Higher Education Institutions and other research institutes eligible for Research Council funds. This call is being issued in collaboration with the Medical Research Council.
20 projects were funded under the first phase of the Programme at a total cost of � 2m. These projects are exploring different facets of the interaction between innovative health technologies (IHTs) and wider changes in society. The second phase of the Programme will build upon the foundations of this initial research, a budget of up to approx. � 1.6 m has been allocated to fund projects in the following areas:
o Innovation o Governance o Social Management of Health o Social Inclusion and Exclusion.
Phase II of the Programme is especially likely to support work which can extend our understanding of IHTs at an international level, as well as contribute towards the development of measures to determine the benefits of IHTs.
Applicants are invited to submit a full research proposal, focused on one or more of the above topics, indicating how they propose to address the research questions outlined in the research specification. Applications from transdisciplinary research teams, spanning medical and social science are particularly welcome.
The closing date for applications is Monday, 3rd September 2001. Applications postmarked after 5 p.m. on this date will not be accepted for consideration.
Further information and electronic copies of the application form can be obtained from the ESRC's Website www.esrc.ac.uk/fundops.htm or by sending an e-mail to: debra.hughes@esrc.ac.uk
ESRC ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
Advertised in the Guardian 19.06.01 and THES 29.06.2001 More details >>
28 May 2001
New Down's test is quick and safe
Pioneering procedure reduces trauma by allowing earlier abortion choice
by James Meikle, health correspondent Guardian
To read the rest of the article about Kevin Spencer's work on OSCAR*, please follow the link.
*Gillian Lewando-Hundt et.al. Social Implication of One Stop First Trimester Prenatal Screening More details >>
25 May 2001
Social Sciences - News from the ESRC
The ESRC Innovative Health Technologies Programme
Innovative health technologies (IHTs) are challenging our traditional concepts of the NHS, and even our notions of patients and carers. IHTs such as genetic diagnostics pose questions for doctors and patients, the firms that sell them, and the hospitals, regulatory agencies, charities,and insurance companies that manage them. These technologies may redraw the boundaries of health need and provision. A new research programme examines the role IHTs play in redefining the way we manage and experience health and medicine. More details >>
23 May 2001
First IHT cluster meetings are arranged
Two 'cluster meetings' have been set up to facilitate sharing of ideas, approaches and resources. These are:
1. The 'ICT cluster' meeting- to be held in London on 14th June (3 projects: Hanlon, Henwood and Parr) 2. The 'health technologies at midlife' cluster to be held in London on 9th July (2 projects: Griffiths and Henwood)
A brief report on outcomes will appear here on the news section of website.
There may be a space for another cluster for those working specifically around gender issues. Any comments should be sent to the IHT office.
21 May 2001
Innovative Health Technologies Programme Launch
Tuesday 8th May 2001
Innovative Health Technologies Programme Launches successfully. To read about and view the day's events, click here...
24 April 2001
End of Life Issues and Care I
Merryn Gott has been invited to XVIIth World Congress of the International Association of Gerontology (July 1-6), Vancouver to give an oral paper. She will be presenting work on the project "Technology and Natural Death: a Study of Older People", Seymour et. al., on Wednesday July 4th at 8.30am.
20 April 2001
The loss of biological limits: social aspects
Dr Sarah Franklin, undertaking an IHT project on preimplantation genetic diagnostics was invited to give a paper at the HUGO meeting in Edinburgh last week. The paper was entitled, 'The loss of biological limits: social aspects of the new genetics' and was in a session on ethical issues of cloning and stem cell research chaired by Professor Ruth Chadwick, a member of the HUGO Ethics Committee.
Sarah's abstract reads as follows:
Ian Wilmut uses the term 'the age of biological control' to describe the post-Dolly context in which it is no longer meaningful to refer to anything as 'biologically impossible' anymore. Wilmut, in other words, describes a loss of what were formerly thought of as biological limits. This paper explores the issue of the loss of biological limits at the level of social concerns about cloning and embryo research. Drawing upon ethnographic research into social understandings of the new genetics conducted by anthropologists in the UK and elsewhere, the issue of limits is used to explore new configurations of the social and the biological (or the natural and the technical) which must be taken into account as part of the debate about ethical public policy.
09 April 2001
The Impact of New Medical Technologies: Transforming Health, Transforming Medicine
The following paper was presented at the Health & Society session on Society's contribution to medical research, organised by Professor Sally Macintyre (MRC Social & Public Health Science Unit) The session discussed how medical science and medical care are shaped by the societies in which they are embedded. The first part of the session examined society's contribution to individual science via individuals participating as subjects in medical research; the second part examined the impact of social and environmental change on medicine and health.
The Impact of New Medical Technologies: Transforming Health, Transforming Medicine
Professor Andrew Webster, SATSU, University of York
Summary of Paper to be given at the BAAS meeting, Glasgow, September 4 2001
Medicine and technology have always been closely related, though it is also true that there have been tensions between medical professionals and emergent techniques. The medical profession has over the past fifty years become more dependent on technology to reveal the structure and function of the body: technologies penetrate the surface of the body, help classify symptoms and disorders, diagnose their seriousness and provide prognoses and recommendations for effective treatment.
Contemporary technologies - such as the 'new genetics', in vitro fertilisation, telemedicine, therapeutic cloning, stem cell research, xenotransplantation are clearly all potentially powerful tools for the diagnosis, treatment and even prevention of illness and disease. But they are all technologies that have begun to redefine the scale, scope and boundaries of the medical portfolio itself. These technologies have not emerged from clinical practice or experimentation, as in the past, but from molecular biology and bioinformatics labs.
One of the defining features of medicine today that is reshaping the medical portfolio is that it is becoming informaticised. This is happening in two ways: first medicine is taking on the language and practice of biology, and as a result, takes on the character of an information science, since biology is itself becoming an information science, dependent on mapping and managing information at the level of the cell, protein and gene. The quarternary code of the genomic universe (CTAG) is increasingly dependent for its manipulation and utility on the binary code (01001..) of the digital universe. The second way that medicine is being informaticised is in terms of its delivery and management through telecare, telemedicine, and health informatics.
The paper explores the principal implications of these developments, specifically with regards to: � how the boundaries and very meaning of our bodies are changing - we are reconfiguring our bodies and the relations we have towards each other � the uncertainty over the moral status of both the new entities and relations we create through these technologies � the new types of (presymptomatic) illness and disease classifications the technologies create � the new individualised risk associated with them � the arrival of the 'orphan patient'
The paper concludes by discussing the wider ramifications new technologies have with regards to the increasingly provisional nature of medical diagnosis, more differentiated, non-medical health information sources, the loss of trust in medicine and how, in response, we might develop a shared language for the new medical technologies we confront. More details >>
29 March 2001
Palliative Care
Jane Seymour et. al. have poster abstract accepted for the Palliative Care Research Forum and colleagues in her department will attend the European Association for Palliative Care Conference. Jane's first focus group creates 10,000 words of data! More details >>
29 March 2001
Images of the Mind
Simon Cohn and Jo-Anne Bichard are running a brain imaging workshop, under the title "Images of the Mind" on 19th and 20th April in central London. Please contact Jo-Anne at j.bichard@gold.ac.uk for more details.