Two not too long ago employed college members within the School of Nursing are losing no time making their mark at Florida State College, increasing the school’s footprint by way of the creation of a brand new institute targeted on the intersection of digital innovation, large knowledge and well being care.
Lisa Hightow-Weidman and Kathryn Muessig — esteemed digital well being consultants whom FSU employed from the College of North Carolina at Chapel Hill — have created the Institute on Digital Well being and Innovation.
The institute, a part of the School of Nursing, will emphasize the usage of digital instruments in well being training, messaging and remedy; encourage collaboration and innovation throughout the college and well being care business; and supply coaching for college kids and postdoctoral fellows by way of analysis.
Hightow-Weidman will function founding director and Muessig as founding affiliate director.
“This institute will carry collectively and foster collaborations throughout a number of various teams, together with educational, neighborhood and business stakeholders,” Hightow-Weidman mentioned. “And what the institute can supply hopefully is to create an ecosystem to facilitate the development of rigorous, translational analysis targeted on fixing real-world wants of sufferers and that in the end profit well being care methods and communities.”
The initiative corresponds with FSU’s development in well being care-related analysis and teaching programs. Florida State College has been constructing out its well being analysis portfolio whereas pursuing partnerships with main well being care entities all through North Florida, together with Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare, HCA Florida and the Mayo Clinic.
The Institute on Digital Well being and Innovation will play a serious function in furthering these efforts whereas offering vital coaching alternatives for college kids.
“There are some nice researchers within the School of Nursing who’ve thought lots about digital applied sciences and well being training and the way you employ that to the good thing about sufferers,” Muessig mentioned.
She famous certainly one of her first conversations with Jing Wang, dean of the School of Nursing and mentioned: “One of many issues that I actually appreciated listening to was her imaginative and prescient for coaching by way of analysis – hands-on experiential studying for college kids to enrich what they’re doing within the classroom.”
Hightow-Weidman started her function as a distinguished and endowed McKenzie Professor within the School of Nursing in early October. Muessig will begin her function as a School of Nursing professor on Dec. 1.
“Analysis on the Institute on Digital Well being and Innovation will promote equitable care that makes use of novel digital options, fulfilling the School of Nursing’s mission to boldly sort out challenges in how well being care staff ship one of the best care to sufferers,” Wang mentioned. “This initiative may even present extra coaching alternatives for college kids and can foster collaboration and innovation throughout campus to influence your entire well being care ecosystem in Florida, nationally and globally.”
Wang additionally famous the school’s deal with know-how to reinforce the usage of human contact – she calls it the “excessive human contact” – and enhance nurses’ time at sufferers’ beside.
“One well being fairness emphasis of the digital well being method we anchored right here at FSU is the tech-empowered excessive human contact method to interact not solely the rich who need superior know-how, but additionally those that lack entry to or choose the excessive human contact over tech options,” she mentioned. “This could notably profit the ever-increasing retiree/getting old inhabitants within the state of Florida.”
She referred to as the method “our tenet and our lens leveraging digital well being options.”
Hightow-Weidman is an internationally famend skilled within the growth, implementation and analysis of digital well being interventions to handle the HIV Care Continuum for adolescents and younger adults. She has been on the forefront of translating evidence-based science into digital functions, particularly by way of the inclusion of game-based parts, self-monitoring and monitoring and provision of help to extend engagement and influence well being conduct.
Muessig has targeted on prevention and care of HIV and different sexually transmitted infections within the U.S., China and South Africa. She develops interventions combining digital well being instruments, behavior-change methods and well being methods navigation to lower HIV transmission and enhance well being take care of folks dwelling with HIV.
Collectively, they’ve garnered over $100 million in funding from the Nationwide Institutes of Well being and Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC). They intention to rapidly construct on that, together with for the Institute on Digital Well being and Innovation.
The founders touted their initiative for its promise of a team-based heart that collaborates and evokes analysis that results in analysis, prevention and remedy of illness.
“It’s been thrilling to satisfy folks at FSU who’re working in numerous areas of digital well being, coming at it from completely different approaches, various kinds of applied sciences, wearable gadgets, areas that we’ve got been curious about however haven’t had the chance to collaborate and see the place that can take us,” Muessig mentioned.
The institute additionally will present sensible expertise to college students who may apply analysis and a digital well being method to careers in, for instance, well being care, public service or academia.
“Getting began in analysis could be intimidating,” Hightow-Weidman mentioned. “My hope for the institute can also be to create house for individuals who might need considered analysis, have an amazing concept, however perhaps aren’t positive the way to get began or may gain advantage from extra coaching, mentorship or networking alternatives.”
She added: “We’re actually enthusiastic about what the subsequent few years will carry and might’t consider anywhere extra suited to launch this new endeavor than FSU.”
