2015 Conference | Health, Wellness & Society Research Network

Fifth International Conference on Health, Wellness, and Society

2015 Special Focus: Health and Wellness in the Age of Big Data
3–4 September 2015
Universidad de Alcalá, Madrid, Spain

2

Days of paper presentations, workshops/interactive sessions, posters, and colloquia.

160+

Delegates from all over the world who attended the Fifth International Conference on Health, Wellness, and Society.

19

Countries represented.

Click to Download the Final Program

It is now commonly argued that we have entered the age of “big data” and “the quantified self.” In the practice and study of health and wellness, the question of “big data” turns our attention not only to the integration of data collected formally by medical professionals, but also the aggregation of isolated silos of personal data collected incidental to everyday life activity. These “informal” personal data sets are captured by, for example, wearable devices, smartphone apps, sensors, and web- based diagnosis applications. How do these relate to and integrate with the digitization and networking of silos of traditional “formal” data, including event-based information from medical clinics, hospital records, and national health and medical databases?

The collection, aggregation, and “shareability” of these informal and formal data points present a great opportunity for the practices of, and research into, health and wellness. How might this data assist in the development of new approaches to medical practice and research, a new collective intelligence for health professionals as well as the general public? However, great concerns are also expressed in relation to these developments, based on the following series of questions: Who is “generating” this data? Who is “owning” this data? Who has the right to “share” this data? These questions about the nature of our technologically-mediated social futures are now at the forefront of research, practice, and teaching about health and wellness.

How do we harness the potentials and mitigate the dangers of the age of big data?

The Fifth International Conference on Health, Wellness, and Society featured plenary sessions by some of the world’s leading thinkers and innovators in the field.

For each conference, a small number of Graduate Scholar Awards are given to outstanding graduate students who have an active academic interest in the conference area. The Award with its accompanying responsibilities provides a strong professional development opportunity for graduate students at this stage in their academic careers. The 2015 Graduate Scholar Awardees are listed below.