Conference Opening and Welcome Session
Health for Democracy, Democracy for Health
Democracy – as both a political system and set of values – has often been linked to human health and the quality of healthcare systems. We know, for example, that democratic values tend to correlate positively with human well-being. Conversely, democratic decision-making practices are often heralded to enhance both patients' understanding of their treatment, and influence research budgets to better meet societal needs. Yet, as with elections, we know that the possibility to choose can also produce negative outcomes if the voters/patients are ill-informed. The conference engages with these debates from a transdisciplinary perspective, as well as relating it to new developments including the role of Artificial Intelligence and the rapidly growing role of consumer health apps and wearable devices that have shifted where and how healthcare takes place.