Katie Edwards

Dr Katie Edwards is a Research Fellow in Healthcare Technology & Social Care at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Plymouth (Faculty of Health). Her work focuses on digital health innovations in aging populations, including extended reality (XR) technologies, mHealth interventions, and socially assistive robotics in care settings. She contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals 3 (Health and Well-being) and 10 (Reduced Inequalities).

Edwards holds a MPhil/PhD Candidate status for her Gestational Diabetes Mobile Health Study. Her research spans intergenerational co-production initiatives (e.g., GOALD project), staff perceptions of VR-driven exercise programs, and ethical implementation of facial recognition systems in social care.

Educational Background:

• PhD Candidate: University of Plymouth

Research Interests:

• Digital health interventions for elderly populations
• User-centered design of assistive technologies
• Robotics in long-term care
• mHealth applications for chronic disease management

Key Research Trends: Over 15 publications (2021–2025) demonstrate growing focus on: 1) Technology-enhanced social connectivity for aging adults, 2) Ethical implementation of emerging technologies in care, and 3) Quantitative-qualitative evaluations of healthcare innovations.

Collaborations & Projects:

• EPIC Project: Leading recruitment and knowledge exchange efforts
• Generating Older Active Lives Digitally (GOALD) initiative
• Stratified cluster trials on socially assistive robots

Labs/Teams: Active in cross-disciplinary teams addressing healthcare technology adoption barriers and co-design methodologies with care stakeholders.