Christina Vasilica
School of Health and Society
Current positions
Researcher in Digital / Social Media in Health
Biography
Cristina is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Digital and Social Media in Healthcare. Her background is in IT service development working in the industry before embarking on PhD, which evaluated the impact of social media on patients’ information provision, networking and communication.
Her research interests focus on creating digital tools, which embed sustainable engagement strategies in the healthcare and educational context. She explores the expansion of digital/social media and emerging technologies across different contexts; combining technical understanding with theoretical constructs to impact on real life information provision, individual engagement in health and social care. For example: a social media approach to respond to the needs of patients with IgA nephropathy or digital marketing to promote health messages.
Areas of research
Digital Health, Behaviour Change, Information Need, Social Capital, Digital Skills
My teaching and learning skills are spread over a variety of contexts. Within the Higher Education (HE) context, I have a good record in designing and delivering learning technologies, contributing to student programmes and working with colleagues to develop innovative online solutions, recognised with the VC's Distinguished Teaching Awards 2013. Outside HE, the majority of projects involved developing sustainable and transferable strategies, achieved through motivating and training stakeholders.
Teaching Interests
- Digital Health
- Evaluation / Impact
- Research Methods
- Digital Business
- Social Capital
- Social Media
- Online Networks
Cristina's research interests focus on creating digital tools, which embed sustainable engagement strategies in the healthcare and educational context. She explores the expansion of emerging technologies across different contexts; combining technical understanding with theoretical constructs to impact on real life information provision and individual engagement in health and social care. Cristina worked with INVOLVE (National Institute for Health Research) to influence and inform the safe use of social media use with patients involved in research and received an innovations award for use of social media. She is currently working on a variety of projects examining if digital skills training can re-engage people with chronic kidney disease back into employment and the labour market, the use of social/digital media for patient and public involvement.
Qualifications
- BSc Business Information Technology with industrial placement
- PhD
Memberships
- Fellow of HEA