معرفی
Joseph Wherton is a Senior Researcher at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, and a member of Wolfson College. His work focuses on the design, implementation, and scaling of technology and service innovations across health and social care, with particular expertise in remote digital care initiatives including video consultations and sensor-based monitoring systems.
- BSc (Hons)
- PhD
Dr. Wherton's research is strongly interdisciplinary, employing action research, narrative methods, and participatory design to address complex challenges in technology-supported healthcare change. His work primarily involves mixed-method case studies examining remote digital care initiatives, with significant focus on the sustained adoption of home sensors in social care as part of the NIHR-funded DECIDE programme and the national evaluation of Scotland's 'Near Me' video consultation programme. He has extensive experience studying how technologies can support older people and vulnerable groups, including those living with dementia, loneliness, restricted mobility, and chronic illness.
His recent publications (2022-2025) demonstrate a consistent focus on digital health implementation in primary care settings, examining technostress among healthcare staff, video consultation programmes, digital inclusion challenges, and preventive care implementation. His research consistently employs mixed-methods approaches that emphasize understanding the socio-technical contexts of healthcare delivery and the complex interplay between technology, practice, and patient needs.
Dr. Wherton leads the Dissertation Module for the Translational Health Sciences MSc and provides postgraduate teaching on ethnographic and participatory design methods. He supervises DPhil and MSc projects focused on health and social care innovations. His current research is supported by significant funding including the NIHR DECIDE programme, where he leads ethnographic and formative evaluation projects examining technology-enabled remote monitoring in diverse health and social care environments.
Prior to joining Oxford, Dr. Wherton conducted research at Queen Mary University of London (2011-2016) focusing on telecare and telehealth solutions, and at Trinity College Dublin (2008-2011) working with Intel's Digital Health Group on medical technology design. He is an active member of the Interdisciplinary Research in Health Sciences (IRIHS) research group at Oxford.
