Digital health key to mission of Waikato’s new Institute for Chronic Disease Research

NEWS  - eHealthNews editor Rebecca McBeth

The use of digital health technologies to help people prevent and manage chronic conditions is central to the mission of the new Institute for Chronic Disease Research at the University of Waikato, its director says.

Ralph Maddison has returned to New Zealand after 11 years at Deakin University in Melbourne to lead the newly established Institute and he tells eHealthNews that exploring the use of digital health and AI will play a key role.

"Our mission more broadly is to reduce the economic burden of chronic diseases on government and the burden on people through research into prevention and management of chronic diseases," he says.

Chronic diseases cover a wide range including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and respiratory conditions and many people live with multiple conditions, making the scale of the challenge significant.

He says digital health technologies are a critical enabler because they place people at the centre of their own care. Tools that allow people to track symptoms, monitor physical activity, manage medication, and communicate directly with their care teams can make a difference by supporting in-person care.

"I think a real key point of the pervasiveness of digital health is that we can begin to empower people to have understanding of their own health condition, the data that they own and can view, but also to start to communicate with healthcare providers and healthcare organisations in the prevention and management of their own disease," he says.

Maddison says there is a gap between research and real-world implementation that he wants to address.

"The trouble with a lot of digital technologies is that we evaluate effectiveness, but few are then translated into everyday practice," he explains.

Newer technologies such as wearables, AI, and agent-based support are developing rapidly, and the evidence base has not yet caught up enough to support their full integration into clinical practice, so further evaluation is needed.

Maddison’s team in Melbourne were developing a large language model digital twin to support the prediction of cardiovascular disease risk and help people manage their health through lifestyle and medication support over the long term.

He has also helped to develop telehealth and remote monitoring platforms for people with cardiovascular disease and heart failure. 

"I think we do need to reimagine how healthcare is provided, where people are managed in the community as much as possible, and they have access to healthcare services both in person and remotely,” he says.

Maddison’s goal is to build a collaborative research platform that spans prevention, prediction, and long-term management, while growing the next generation of researchers and establishing authentic partnerships with Māori, Pacific, and community organisations.

"Success is probably not the number of projects or technologies we produce, but whether we can help people live healthier lives in a system that can provide early, more equitable and sustainable care," he says.

Image: Ralph Maddison, director, Institute for Chronic Disease Research, University of Waikato

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