| Dozent/in |
Nicola Diviani, PhD; Dr. phil. Claudia Zanini, Diviani / Zanini |
| Veranstaltungsart |
Vorlesung |
| Code |
HS261109 |
| Semester |
Herbstsemester 2026 |
| Durchführender Fachbereich |
Gesundheitswissenschaften |
| Studienstufe |
Master |
| Termin/e |
Do, 15.10.2026, 12:30 - 14:00 Uhr, 2.A07
Do, 29.10.2026, 12:30 - 14:00 Uhr, 2.A07
Do, 05.11.2026, 12:30 - 14:00 Uhr, 2.A07
Do, 12.11.2026, 12:30 - 14:00 Uhr, 2.A07
Do, 19.11.2026, 12:30 - 14:00 Uhr, 2.A07
Do, 26.11.2026, 12:30 - 14:00 Uhr, 2.A07
Do, 03.12.2026, 12:30 - 14:00 Uhr, 2.A07
Do, 10.12.2026, 12:30 - 14:00 Uhr, 2.A07
Do, 17.12.2026, 12:30 - 14:00 Uhr, 2.A07
Mi, 20.01.2027, 09:00 - 17:00 Uhr, HS 4 (Prüfung) |
| Umfang |
2 Semesterwochenstunden |
| Inhalt |
We live in a world where health information is not simply communicated — it is structured, filtered, and amplified by digital systems. Search engines rank what is visible, social media platforms prioritise what engages, wearables generate personalised risk data, and AI tools increasingly produce and curate clinical and lay health content. What people know, believe, and do about health is shaped by these environments long before any individual communication takes place.
This course examines digital health information environments as a central object of analysis. The guiding question is how the systems organising health information (platforms, institutions, algorithms, data flows) are structured, what logics drive them, and what this means for health at the individual and population level.
The course is structured around three interconnected perspectives. It first maps the ecosystem: who produces health information, how it circulates, and according to which logics it is made visible or suppressed, from EHRs and patient portals to social media and generative AI. It then examines how people engage with these environments, drawing on cognitive psychology, risk perception, and attention economy research. Finally, it addresses design, intervention, and governance: what it means to take responsibility for environments that shape health decisions at scale, and what tools (regulatory, technical, and communicative) are available.
Key concepts explored in the course include information quality, trust, accessibility, and inequality, treated as structural properties of environments built into platforms, algorithms, and incentive systems, rather than as properties of individual messages or users. Particular attention is given to platforms and artificial intelligence as new gatekeepers of health information, and to the accountability questions this raises for health professionals, institutions, and regulators.
This course is relevant to students who aspire to shape how health information is produced, organised, and used, whether as clinicians integrating digital tools into practice, public health practitioners designing population-level interventions, policy advisors evaluating digital health strategies, or researchers studying health in digital society. |
| Lernziele |
Upon completing this course, students will be able to:
- Map digital health information environments, identifying key actors, technologies, incentive structures, and information flows, from EHRs and wearables to social media platforms and AI-generated content.
- Analyse how these environments shape what people encounter, how they process it, and what they do as a result, drawing on theories of cognition, risk perception, and the attention economy.
- Evaluate information quality, trust, accessibility, and inequality as structural properties of digital environments, and identify the mechanisms through which they are produced.
- Compare and critically assess approaches to designing health-supportive information environments, including choice architecture, platform governance, and regulatory frameworks, with attention to their assumptions, evidence base, and ethical implications.
- Apply the course framework to a concrete professional case (a platform, a campaign, a clinical system, or a policy intervention) and develop grounded recommendations for improvement. |
| Sprache |
Englisch |
| Anmeldung |
Moodle: https://elearning.hsm-unilu.ch/course/view.php?id=1037
|
| Leistungsnachweis |
Regular class participation; timely completion of individual/group assignments during the semester; final oral exam.
IMPORTANT: In order to earn credits and participate at the exam registration via Uni Portal within the exam registration period is MANDATORY. Further information: www.unilu.ch/en/study/courses-exams-regulations/health-sciences-and-medicine/exams/ |
| Abschlussform / Credits |
Oral exam / 3 Credits
|
| Hörer-/innen |
Nein |
| Kontakt |
nicola.diviani@doz.unilu.ch / claudia.zanini@doz.unilu.ch |
| Material |
The teaching material is based on PowerPoint slides and selected readings. All learning materials are provided via the E-learning platform Moodle. |
| Literatur |
Readings will be provided during the course via the E-learning platform Moodle. |