Episode 2: What are health ecosystems? Dr. Josephine McMurray
Introduction
Today’s guest is Dr. Josephine McMurray, Ph.D., MBA, MRT, an Associate Professor at the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University. She teaches in the Business Technology Management Program & is a member of the Health Studies Faculty. Her research portfolio focuses on issues at the intersection of healthcare, technology, and management and includes economic evaluations of new health technologies and the experiences of female founders in health and non-health startups. She has presented her research with the AGEWELL National Centre of Excellence exploring what regions have to do to become “Silicon Valley” — like spaces that encourage innovation and technological solutions to support healthy aging, both nationally and internationally.
We’re all aging, and everyone’s talking about it!
Key Takeaways
[:38] We are currently in Vancouver for the Age-Well Annual Conference and we are happy to welcome Dr. Josephine McMurray. We have invited her to share a little bit about her research.
[1:20] We ask Dr. McMurray, how she became interested in aging.
[1:58] What the Drive Health Ecosystems approach is and how it came about — as well as how most innovation in research takes place and the role of stakeholders in that growth.
[5:45] On the different “Helixes” in stakeholder relationships.
[8:05] A great example of developing interrelated technologies in a concerted and integrated manner.
[10:47] Waterloo has one of the most innovative communities in the whole of Canada, and Dr. McMurray dives into some of the reasons why!
[13:24] We discuss the importance of investing in human capabilities.
[14:46] What is implementation science and how can we make sure that not-for-profit results are viewed as beneficial as well?
[15:58] What are the barriers older adults might be experiencing with the adoption of newer technologies? (There is a funny anecdote here!)
[21:57] On the critical importance of protecting vulnerable populations from healthcare reforms and ensuring equal access.
[22:48] We unpack the preconceived idea that older adults are a homogenous group and the opportunities that arise from seeing the vast diversity within that segment.
[25:15] We ask Josephine if there are more details she would like to share about her research — and there are so many interesting things!
[32:07] How does Josephine think technology will change the way we age in the future?
[38:29] We thank Josephine for coming on the podcast. Until next time, subscribe, rate, and share!
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Mentioned in this episode
Age-Well Annual Conference in Vancouver
Drive Health Ecosystems Approach
“Making Connections: Working Together with Technology to Support Social Inclusion for Older Adults”
Hacking Health: Hackathons/True North 2019
