Digital Wellbeing, Health and Learning 

The rapid advances in digital technologies, including AI, impacts on how we live, how we learn, and how we manage our health. This dynamic, interdisciplinary research programme addresses critical challenges and examines the social, educational and ethical aspects of developing and implementing digital technologies for health and wellbeing. We employ theoretically diverse approaches and methods to critically examine the opportunities and challenges associated with designing and implementing technology to improve health outcomes, enhance healthcare delivery and support workforce development. 

The programme further draws attention to how digital technologies influence individual or organisational practices, drive innovation, and shape new ways of working that improve services and deliver better health and wellbeing outcomes. Issues such as digital inequalities, digital harms, and access to health alongside consideration of ethical and social issues require investigation and are of central interest to the programme.  

The programme brings together researchers and academics with expertise in investigating the relationships between education, EdTech and health and wellbeing. The five key research areas are:  

1. Digital health learning and behaviour change: Focussing on how individuals develop the cognitive, emotional and reflective capacities to make sense of health-related data and translate it into meaningful behaviour change. It also explores how personal networks, digital platforms and real-time data interact over time to shape health behaviours, linking COB-B (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation), socio-ecological and learning-theory frameworks within digital ecosystems.  
2. Human-computer interaction and wellbeing platforms: Examining the role of interface design, data visualisation, and digital reflection tools in supporting emotional regulation, identity transformation, and overall wellbeing. It investigates the interplay between technology and human interactions to optimise the user experience in health and wellbeing platforms.  
3. Mental health and wellbeing support: Exploring mental health challenges across learning and work contexts, examining how individuals experience, manage and are supported through these challenges. It develops evidence-based interventions to promote mental health and wellbeing in educational and professional environments. 
4. Digital and physical education for young people: Investigating how digital technologies can intersect with teaching and learning to support the development of young people. 
5. Healthcare Workforce Development, education and training: Examining technology-supported workforce development, including online programmes, AI-driven and simulation-based healthcare training, alongside community-focused initiatives to help healthcare professionals build skills and knowledge, and develop new ways of working, and to support service delivery and widen access and participation in healthcare training and education.

Selected insights and findings

2026

• Charitonos, K., Littlejohn, A., Dawadi, S., Vaidya, A., Owusu-Ofori, A., Gosttasbpour, F. and Giri, S. (2026) Fostering deliberation and action in context: an analysis of implementation research among healthcare professionals in LMICs from a post-digital perspective. British Journal of Educational Technology.

2025

• Rienties, B., Martin, L. and Goshtasbpour, F. (2025). Exploring Physical Activity Levels and Performance Among High-Intensity Transplant Athletes at the World Transplant Games. Progress in Transplantation.
• Rienties, B., Roelen, K., Oakley, B., Duncan, E., Pengel, L. (2025). Multiple and Multi-dimensional Life Transitions of World Transplant Athletes. In: Jindal-Snape, Divya ed. The Palgrave Handbook of Multiple and Multi-Dimensional Educational and Life Transitions . London: Palgrave MacMillan.

2024

• Langdridge D, Virhia J, McMullan R, Banks D, Biard O, Charitonos K, Alunyo JP, Kagoya EK, Olupot-Olupot P. (2024). Effectiveness of work-based educational interventions for antimicrobial stewardship: a systematic review. JAC Antimicrob Resist . 2024 Dec 10; 6 (6):dlae192.
• Charitonos, K., Mcmullan, R., Littlejohn, A., MacQueen, H. (2024). Addressing Global Challenges By Contextualising Learning At Scale: Future Professional Learning For The Health Sector. In Journal of Interactive Media in Education , 2024(1): 18, pp. 1–14.
• Rienties, B., Duncan, E., Judd, P., Oakley, B., Pengel, L., Roelen, K., Topley, N. (2024). Barriers and facilitators to physical activity: a comparative analysis of transplant athletes competing in high intensity sporting events with other transplant recipients. PLoS ONE 19 (8): e0307095.

2023

• Charitonos, Koula; Littlejohn, Allison; Dawadi, Saraswati; Vaidya, Abhinav; Giri, Santosi; Owusu-Ofori, Alex and Goshtasbpour, Fereshte (2023).  Developing Relational Work as a Design Tool in activities with health professionals . In: EARLI2023 Conference, Thessaloniki, Greece.
• Littlejohn, A., Charitonos, K., Goshtasbpour, F., Dawadi, S., and McMullan, R. (2023).  Addressing the persistent disconnect between learning and work: Using a Logic Model to support negotiations of diverse actors during the design of digital learning systems .  Learning Letters.
• Jones, R., Bbaale, L., Charitonos, K., Alla-Mensah, J., Hewitt, J., Matova, Q., Fanta Daira Marylyn, Munyandinda Ireen, Miskat Mariata Blessing, Ninsiima Pross (2023). Knowledge, resources and access to sexual and reproductive health and rights: The views and experiences of young refugees living in Kyangwali refugee settlement, Western Uganda. The Open University, Milton Keynes UK, 2023. ISBN: 978-1-4730-3903-2

2022

• Iniesto, F., Charitonos, K., and Littlejohn, A. (2022). A review of co-design methods in Health Education. Open Education Studies . 4, 273–295.

2021

• Charitonos, K., Hoggart, L., Jones, R., Keogh, P. and Scott, E. (2021). Principles into practice. Co-creation of Learning in complex and challenging environments. Discussion Guide and Toolkit. The Open University and ACCESS consortium. p.45.
• Coughlan, T., Lister, K. & Lucassen, M. (2021). Representing the Unseen with “Our Journey”: a Platform to Capture Affective Experiences and Support Emotional Awareness in University-Level Study. J Form Des Learn 5, 39–52.
• Charitonos, K. and Littlejohn, A. (2021). Professional Learning in healthcare settings in resource-limited environments: What are the tensions for professionals’ knowing and learning about antimicrobial resistance? Studies in Continuing Education. 44 (3), 475–492.
• Charitonos, K., Littlejohn, A., Dawadi, S., Goshtasbpour, F., Seal, T. , MacQueen, H., and Mcmullan, R. (2021). Fleming Fund: Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).
• Kaatrakoski, H., Littlejohn, A. and Charitonos, K. (2021). Antimicrobial resistance challenging professional learning in three LMICs. Journal of Workplace Learning.
• Littlejohn, A., Charitonos, K. Goshtasbpour, F. Dawadi, S. and  Badger,S. Vaidya, A., Giri, S., Owusu-Ofori, A. (2021). Tackling antimicrobial resistance: The AMR surveillance toolkit, a resource for managers, team leads and senior staff in healthcare settings in AMR surveillance networks.

2019

• Littlejohn, A., Charitonos, K., Kaatrakoski, H. (2019). The Role of Professional Learning in Addressing Global Challenges: Tensions and Innovations Associated With AMR. In Journal Frontiers in Digital Education . Volume 4.