Master of Philosophy in Health Innovation

Purpose

The qualification aims to equip students with the tools to design, implement and evaluate context-appropriate interventions to improve health and to conduct health-related research at all points of the innovation chain. This will be done in the context of health-and healthcare systems and an examination of the international, regional, national, government, civil society, community and private sector efforts addressing healthcare challenges faced by developing countries in general, and South Africa in particular.

Knowledge generation at an advanced level will be informed by engagement with the health context. This qualification will teach theories related to innovation, systems thinking and design thinking, but will be practice oriented, with projects and a dissertation that entail the design of health interventions, with a focus on implementation and attention to the end user. Thus the entire innovation value chain will be emphasised: identifying needs; designing interventions; and implementing interventions, all with reference to context and appropriate design. This qualification will enable students to use their discipline-specific knowledge, gained in a range of undergraduate Degrees, but will also draw on other disciplines through collaboration with peers and experts.

Graduates will be able to contribute to the health sector, both private and public, Non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and government departments by applying a systematic approach to identifying the potential for, and then designing, interventions to improve health, with consideration to the context in which interventions will operate.

In the first semester of the programme, the course work will emphasise the South African health context. The first year will be anchored in a course on health innovation, comprising both theory and practice. In the first semester of the second year, students will take a course on entrepreneurship where they will experience the steps that follow successful innovation, i.e. building a sustainable enterprise with a developed innovation as a foundation. The qualification will culminate in a dissertation, in which students design, implement and/or evaluate a health innovation.

Rationale

Innovation is generally thought to be key to overcoming the current health challenges faced in South Africa and globally. The term "innovation" covers the entire value chain from the generation of new ideas and their transformation into new or improved products, services, methods, processes, to the implementation, and does not only refer to the introduction and adaptation of technologies. In the context of this qualification, any intervention designed and implemented to improve health is an innovation. Thus, this qualification will focus on the design, implementation and evaluation of innovations to improve health and will enable students to understand the full innovation chain and the interdependencies that exist across it. Students will carry out the dissertation research projects at specific points in the innovation value chain with an appreciation of the broader context of their specific project, the broader appreciation having been gained through course work which will have included individual and group projects.

Existing Postgraduate qualifications related to public health tend to focus on analysis to enhance the understanding of health challenges and the burden of the disease. The design of interventions or innovations is not addressed in a purposeful manner, even when research projects involve the implementation or evaluation of interventions. This qualification will guide students systematically through the process of innovation and will rely on the theory and practice of systems thinking and design thinking to achieve this purpose. They will learn to apply a methodology of innovation.

The institution receives enquiries about and applications for the institution's existing Master of Science (MSc) in Biomedical Engineering from students who are interested in innovation and health, but are not eligible because they do not meet the requirement of having a 4-year Degree in n a quantitative discipline. They usually do, however, have a background in life or health sciences that would equip them to enter a qualification in Health Innovation. The qualification would also be open to students from non-health sciences backgrounds, who have an interest in health, opening a new source of students.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Not applicable.

Entry Requirements

The minimum requirements for admission into this Masters Degree is either a

• Honours Degree.

Or

• 4-year Professional Degree.

Or

• Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB).

This qualification comprises compulsory and elective modules at Level 8 and 9 totalling 180 Credits.

Compulsory Modules Level 8, 12 Credits

> Health and Community Development, 12 Credits.

Elective Modules Level 8, 12 Credits (Choose 1)

• Medical devices and instrumentation overview, 12 Credits.
• Introduction to medical imaging and image processing, 12 Credits.
• Applied electrophysiology, 12 Credits.

Compulsory Modules Level 9, 156 Credits

• Public Health and Society, 12 Credits.
• Medicine and the Arts, 24 Credits.
• Health Innovation and Design, 42 Credits.
• Biomedical Engineering Overview, 8 Credits.
• Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 10 Credits.
• Minor dissertation, 60 Credits.

1. Understand the local and global health context.
2. Demonstrate a comprehensive and systematic knowledge base in the design, implementation and evaluation of innovations for improved health.
3. Demonstrate a coherent and critical understanding of the theories of systems, design and innovation.
4. Demonstrate an ability to relate theory to practice and vice versa and to think epistemologically.
5. Master the application of research methods, towards a dissertation under supervision.
6. Demonstrate an ability to identify, analyse and address complex health problems drawing systematically on systems thinking and design methodologies.
7. Demonstrate advanced information retrieval and processing skills; identification, critical analysis, synthesis and independent evaluation of quantitative and/or qualitative data.
8. Demonstrate an ability to undertake a study of the literature and current research in health innovation under supervision.
9. Present effectively and communicate the results of research to specialist and non-specialist audiences using the resources of an academic/ professional discourse.
10. Produce a dissertation that meets the standards of scholarly/professional writing.
11. Demonstrate the capacity to critically self-evaluate and continue to learn independently for continuing scholarly development.
12. Manage learning tasks autonomously, professionally and ethically.
13. Criticise rigorously and evaluate current research and participate in scholarly debates on health innovation.
14. Evaluate critically own and others' work with justification.

The following Associated Assessment Criteria will be applied in an integrated manner across the Exit level Outcomes.

• Demonstrate a coherent understanding of the theory, research methodologies and techniques relevant to emergency medicine by covering advance research methodologies, bias, confounders and biostatistics.
• Demonstrate an understanding of and ability to practice evidence-based medicine and critical thinking.
• Develop own management protocols in trauma, toxicology and environmental medicine cases.
• Conduct a risk assessment, and prepare, plan, communicate and respond in medical disaster situations.
• Understand key aspects of adult learning theory, small group teaching, use of virtual learning environments (VLE) and electronic learning resources and clinical skills-based teaching.
• Demonstrate an understanding of and ability to apply emergency medicine and management skills in difficult or hostile environments.
• Demonstrate a understanding of advance epidemiology and research.
• Demonstrate an understanding of clinical skills training, and an understanding of the principles of the physics of ultrasound and ultrasound modes.
• Understand the local and global health context, the social determinants of health.
• Understand the structure of the South African health system.
• Be familiar with systems, design and innovation theories and be able to apply them to health problems and proposed interventions.
• Identify opportunities for intervention to address health problems.
• Design, implement and evaluate health innovations.
• Understand local research and industry activities related to technological innovation for health.
• Understand that the body, health and disease can be conceptualised from different perspectives.
• Identify opportunities and implement mechanisms for creating social and economic value through interventions for better health.
• Complete a research project, culminating in a dissertation, on the design, implementation or evaluation of an innovation for improved health.

Integrated Assessment

Assessment will be in alignment with the assessment of other Master of Philosophy (MPhil) qualifications and will also adhere to the institutions' overall assessment policy. Dissertations will be externally examined. Coursework will be assessed at prescribed points - formative assessment during coursework modules, and summative assessment at the end of modules. As this is a Postgraduate qualification, assessment will take the form of written submission and oral presentations that require students to engage critically with course material, literature, and with their practical work, rather than traditional examinations.

Assessment will particularly test desired outcomes, ie students' ability to

• Reflect critically on theories related to innovation, systems thinking and design thinking, and their application to health innovation.
• Contribute to the development of knowledge related to the design, implementation and evaluation of innovations at an advanced level, i.e. at a level that integrates the disciplinary grounding of an Honours-equivalent Degree with the conceptual frameworks of systems thinking and design thinking, as well as with contextual knowledge of health and health care systems.
• Deal with complex health issues systematically and creatively with reference to appropriate theories and frameworks, particularly relating to innovation, systems thinking and design thinking.
• Make critical use of data and information in assessing health problems and considering solutions.
• Design and critically appraise research on health innovation.
• Communicate research findings and project outcomes clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences.
• Independently plan and implement tasks with a theoretical underpinning.