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DHI undertakes research, facilitates international knowledge exchange, and publishes academic outputs, grey literature, white papers and a variety of other digital resources focused on digital health and social care. Home / Resources DHI undertakes research, facilitates international knowledge exchange, and publishes academic outputs, grey literature, white papers and a variety of other digital resources focused on digital health and social care. Article Blog post Executive summary Factsheet Paper Poster Presentation Report Show / exhibition Video Search by author ENVISION: The Digital Blueprint for a Smart Home of the Future Report 2026 Start Now Navigating Scotland’s Digital Health and Social Care Innovation Ecosystem: Mapping Support Structures from an Entrepreneurial Perspective Report 2026 Start Now Digital Health and Social Care Deep Dive Report Report 2026 Start Now Health and Social Care Workforce Survey : Experience, Opportunities and Attitudes to Digital Working – Summary Report Executive summary 2026 Start Now Digital Care Collaborative Scotland A community driving digital innovation across social care, social work and housing Executive summary 2026 Start Now Transforming Diabetes Care through Innovation: Leveraging Scotland’s Collaborative Ecosystem Thought Leadership Event Summary Report Executive summary 2025 Start Now Digital Innovation in Social Care - Industry Engagement Workshop Report 2025 Start Now Summary of Key Challenges & Opportunities for Digital Mental Health Research & Innovation in Scotland Executive summary 2025 Start Now Digital Mental Health Innovation Cluster (DMHIC) : Annual Report 2024–2025 Report 2025 Start Now Adult ADHD Scottish Pathway Research : A review of the current landscape of approaches to Adult ADHD care across health boards in Scotland Report 2025 Start Now Digital Lifelines Scotland – Evaluation Logic Model Report 2025 Start Now Evaluation of the Digital Lifelines Scotland (DLS) Programme – FINAL REPORT Report 2025 Start Now Evaluation of the Digital Lifelines Scotland (DLS) Programme – SUPPORTING EVIDENCE REPORT Report 2025 Start Now Evaluation of the Digital Lifelines Scotland (DLS) Programme – EVALUATION SUMMARY Report 2025 Start Now Evaluation of a Digital Solution for the Assessment and Management of Pain in Scottish Care Services Report 2025 Start Now Digital Innovation in Social Care : Priorities and Opportunities for Scotland Report 2025 Start Now First Prev 1 Page 1 Next Last

The Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI) was commissioned and remains actively engaged in supporting the Scottish Government’s national response to the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic through various related projects Home / Covid-19 project hub The Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI) played a pivotal role in Scotland's response to the Covid-19 pandemic, driving rapid innovation to meet critical health and social care needs. Through the development of cutting-edge digital tools, DHI provided vital support to patients and frontline staff, ensuring efficient and effective care delivery during an unprecedented crisis. In collaboration with NHS Scotland, government agencies, and SMEs, DHI co-designed and implemented impactful solutions, strengthening Scotland's ability to respond to the challenges of the pandemic. Projects such as the National Notification Service set new benchmarks in digital health, streamlining processes and delivering tangible benefits across the health sector. Explore this hub to learn more about DHI’s Covid-19 initiatives and how they continue to shape the future of health and care innovation. Covid-19 projects Clinical Assessment Tool (CAT) Community Co-management (Co3) Care 'In Place' (CIP) Care Home Assessment Tool (CHAT) Stages 1 & 2 TITTAN & TITTANCovid-19 “A huge thank you to everyone at DHI for the efforts on responding to Covid-19. The DHI team have responded brilliantly to the challenge set and many have gone above and beyond to deliver or drive forward the tools and systems that have made a major difference to citizens and key workers across Scotland. The ongoing support from DHI is hugely appreciated and I look forward to continuing to build on all of the hard work to date.” Deputy Director Jonathan Cameron Digital Health and Care Scottish Government Resources Global Examples of COVID-19 Surveillance Technologies Flash Report Rapid Review of Contact Tracing Methods for COVID-19 Using Innovation to Develop Digital Tools for Public Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic Emerging Trends in Digital Health and Care: A Refresh Post-COVID Emerging Trends in Digital Health and Care: A Refresh Post-COVID (booklet) Partners

DHI collaborates with partners to co-design digital health and social care solutions to key Scottish health challenges. Home / Our projects Filter by Business support Data Standardisation Detection and Treatment Knowledge Exchange Post Event Care Prevention Sort by 5G Feasibility Study Censis, the Scotland 5G Centre, and DHI conducted a feasibility study in Moray to explore 5G opportunities for Health and Care services. The study identified key success factors for a community health network and highlighted the potential for service enhancement through 5G technology. Explore AICE Europe This 4-year, €6 million Horizon Europe programme includes NHS Highland, the University of Edinburgh, and the University of Strathclyde. It aims to replace up to 75% of optical colonoscopies with Camera Capsule Endoscopy (CCE), enhancing patient experience and hospital efficiency by using AI to streamline diagnostics and reduce errors. Explore AIM4ALL The AIM4ALL Proof of Concept aimed to enhance data collection for evaluating new healthcare products in Scotland, using CAR T-cell therapy as an example. The project was a partnership between DHI, Precision Medicine, and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and was funded by Scottish Enterprise and Cell & Gene Catalyst UK. Explore Atrial Fibrillation The Atrial Fibrillation (AF) project, a collaboration between DHI, NHS Lanarkshire, the University of Strathclyde, Napier University, and Bardy, aimed to detect paroxysmal AF using continuous monitoring devices. It focused on reducing stroke recurrence and supporting new stroke standards through co-design and evaluating digital device implementation. Explore Backpack - Person-owned Data Store The Personal Data Store (PDS), or "Backpack," aimed to enhance service access and enable integrated, person-centred care. In partnership with Mydex CIC, NHS Grampian, and Moray Social Health and Care Partnership, DHI worked with MS patients and professionals to improve personal information management for better service experiences. Explore COVID-19 Clinical Assessment Tool (CAT) This project repurposed the DHI-funded Trauma App to assess COVID-19 symptoms, deployed by NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde. It facilitated 20,000 assessments by July 2021. Version 3 was completed, and a Stage 4 proposal was prepared before the project closed in October 2021. Explore COVID-19 Community Co-management (Co3) This project expanded the National Notification Service (NSS) by adding a self-service contact tracing form, crucial to the COVID-19 response. It facilitated rapid data collection and improved accessibility for positive cases. Explore Care 'In Place' (CIP) Care Home Assessment Tool (CHAT) Stages 1 & 2 This project aimed to rapidly develop and test the Care Homes Assessment Tool (CHAT) in at least two Health Boards/HSCP areas. CHAT supports staff in assessing, triaging, and accessing specialist clinical input for resident treatment. Explore Covid-19 related projects Using the 3 Cs to create digital solutions to the Covid-19 challenge Explore Diabetes Portfolio DHI uniquely drives Diabetes Innovation in Scotland by collaborating with NHS, industry, academia, and individuals with lived experiences to advance innovation and funding opportunities. Explore DigiBete Scale up project This project aims to enhance Diabetes self-management and education for Children, Young People, and Families (CYPF) by expanding DigiBete, a patient-led digital platform supporting over 40,000 UK users. After a successful pilot in 2022-2023, additional funding will allow further scaling across NHS Scotland until July 2026. Explore Digital Lifelines Scotland Digital Lifelines Scotland improves digital inclusion and designs digital solutions to reduce harm and deaths among people who use drugs. Managed by DHI and funded by the Scottish Government, the programme provides access to devices, connectivity, skills, and confidence, strengthening services and sector collaboration. Explore First Prev 1 Page 1 Next Last View Project 5G Feasibility Study A study exploring how 5G connectivity could support a community health network, identifying priority use cases, benefits and practical steps to make it work. View Project AICE Europe Develops AI-supported capsule tests to detect bowel cancer earlier and reduce the need for traditional colonoscopies, improving comfort and clinical capacity. View Project AIM4ALL Improves how information is captured for CAR T cancer treatment, helping teams coordinate care and support more consistent, high-quality outcomes for patients. View Project Atrial Fibrillation Tests continuous heart monitoring to detect atrial fibrillation earlier, helping people get timely treatment and lowering the chance of stroke and complications. View Project Backpack - Person-owned Data Store A secure digital store that lets people hold and share their health and care information safely, giving them clear control over who can access it and when. View Project COVID-19 Clinical Assessment Tool (CAT) Adapted an existing app to help assess COVID-19 symptoms and guide next steps safely at home, supporting safer decisions and reducing pressure on services. View Project COVID-19 Community Co-management (Co3) Improved COVID-19 contact tracing by enhancing Scotland’s notification service and creating an accessible online form to collect contacts quickly and securely. View Project Care 'In Place' (CIP) Care Home Assessment Tool (CHAT) Stages 1 & 2 Developed and tested a digital assessment tool for care homes to triage residents’ needs and access the right clinical support, avoiding hospital trips. View Project Covid-19 related projects A collection of projects developed in response to COVID-19, supporting assessment, community care, data sharing and service resilience across Scotland. View Project Diabetes Portfolio Brings partners together to plan and test digital innovation for diabetes in Scotland, from early research through to real-world trials with people and services. View Project DigiBete Scale up project Expands a trusted online platform for children and young people with diabetes, providing reliable information, learning resources and self-care support. View Project Digital Lifelines Scotland Provides devices, data and support so people at risk of harm can access digital services, stay connected and get help when needed, improving digital inclusion.

Moray Growth Deal-funded research sets out how today’s technology can turn an ordinary home into preventative health infrastructure affordably and at scale A new blueprint published today sets out how rural homes can be designed, built and retrofitted to support healthier, lower-carbon and more independent living. Produced by the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI), ‘ENVISION: The Digital Blueprint for a Smart Home of the Future’ is designed to be replicated across rural Scotland and beyond, offering a practical, costed response to three of the UK's most pressing and interconnected challenges: a health and care system under historic strain, a housing stock responsible for nearly a fifth of the country's carbon emissions, and a population ageing faster than the infrastructure built to support it. The blueprint was delivered as part of the £5 million Rural Centre of Excellence for Digital Health & Care Innovation, funded by the UK Government as part of the Moray Growth Deal, which supports a programme to advance digital health, social care innovation, and rural housing development. It was produced in partnership with built environment specialists BE-ST, Moray Council, architecture practice Architype, strategic built environment and technology partner Evolve Capex, and socio-political entrepreneurs The Alternative UK. Scotland’s future homes will need to deliver more than minimum compliance alone. Greater affordability in use, improved health and comfort, adaptability, resilience and reduced future retrofit demand are increasingly what commissioners, landlords and housing providers will expect. The ENVISION blueprint explores how those outcomes can be delivered proportionately across different housing models, from scalable options for volume builders to longer-term rental and social housing approaches, with more ambitious specifications positioned as demonstrator propositions for those ready to go further. Working from evidence that people spend approximately 90% of their lives indoors, and that the home environment is a direct determinant of physical and mental health, the blueprint identifies ten predictive use cases, from damp and mould risk detection to early signs of cognitive drift, where low-cost digital systems embedded at build stage can intervene before health deteriorates. Although designed to be replicable across Scotland and beyond, the blueprint is firmly rooted in Moray. Developed with a cross-sector project delivery group, and drawing on the region's rural realities including higher energy costs, older and harder-to-treat housing stock, patchy connectivity, and reduced access to health and care services, it positions Moray as a leading exemplar of rural digital health innovation. The blueprint has already attracted a group of early adopters committed to testing and implementing its recommendations, including Moray Council, BE-ST, Hanover, Bield, Grampian Housing Association, Capability Scotland and The Retail Trust. Private home builders considering innovation plots through the Moray Growth Deal housing mix programme are also among those the blueprint is designed to serve. Margaret Whoriskey, Head of Innovation for Care & Wellbeing at DHI, said: “There is a real opportunity here to move beyond minimum standards and design homes that actively support people to live well as their health and care needs change. ENVISION reframes the home as something more fundamental, not just shelter, but preventative infrastructure. The technology to make that shift is available now, it is affordable, and the financial case for deploying it is strong, particularly for social landlords managing assets over the long term.” Councillor Marc Macrae, Chair of the Economic Development and Infrastructure Committee and Moray Growth Deal lead said: “It is great to see Moray as an innovator in rural housing and digital health. Through the Moray Growth Deal, we can support solutions that respond to challenges faced in our communities such as fuel poverty and ageing housing stock. “The ENVISION blueprint shows that homes, both new and old, can play an important role in improving health and wellbeing while also reducing energy costs and emissions.” The blueprint situates the home at the intersection of three global challenges whose urgency has been sharply reinforced by recent data. On health and care: Nearly one million older people in the UK experience persistent loneliness, a risk factor comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day Fuel poverty affects approximately 6.1 million households across the UK, with cold, damp homes directly worsening respiratory and cardiovascular conditions The NHS faces rising demand from demographic change with no equivalent rise in capacity On housing and climate: Around 55% of UK homes already overheat during relatively cool summers, a figure set to worsen Operational emissions from buildings account for approximately 19% of the UK's carbon footprint 80% of the buildings that will be occupied in 2050 already exist, making retrofit as urgent as new build On rural Scotland specifically: Rural households face higher energy costs, older housing stock harder to treat, patchy digital connectivity, and reduced access to health and care services Single-occupancy living, more prevalent in rural areas, drives up per-person energy use and amplifies the risks of isolation The blueprint responds to each of these with a phased, practically-grounded approach structured across three horizons: Horizon 1 (deployable now, within 1-3 years), Horizon 2 (predictive integration, 3-7 years) and Horizon 3 (ambient intelligence and regenerative communities, 7+ years). Each horizon builds deliberately on the one before, protecting today's investments from obsolescence. Janette Hughes, Director of Planning and Performance at DHI and executive lead for the programme, said: “What makes ENVISION different is that it doesn't ask housing providers to take a leap of faith. Horizon 1 is built entirely from proven technology that is deployable today. The sensors, the edge computing, the basic health monitoring - none of it is experimental. What's new is the framework for bringing it together coherently, and the evidence that doing so is financially defensible. We wanted to give commissioners and housing providers something they could actually use.” The analysis finds that the preferred Horizon 1, Level 2 specification adds £33,121 per dwelling above the policy baseline, around 11% of total build cost, with the digital infrastructure itself representing only around 1.4% of that. When combined with a Passivhaus-grade fabric specification, the model reduces annual maintenance costs by £1,470 per dwelling and turns a projected £1,320 annual operating deficit for a social landlord into a £403 surplus. At the heart of the blueprint is a Home Operating System (HOS), a low-power edge computing hub that integrates all sensors and controls including indoor air quality, temperature, movement, humidity and sleep patterns, and runs automation and predictive modelling locally, without streaming sensitive data to the cloud. In practical terms, the system can detect rising humidity patterns that precede visible damp and mould formation by days; identify early signs of cognitive drift or mobility decline before they become safety risks; flag fuel poverty under-heating and suggest safe heating cycles; and recognise patterns of loneliness and social withdrawal associated with depression and accelerated cognitive decline. Crucially, all data processing happens inside the home. Nothing is shared with landlords, care services or health providers without explicit resident consent. The blueprint sets out a governance model designed around resident agency, described as 'local first, cloud optional', and is built on open protocols to avoid vendor lock-in. For rural communities where broadband reliability cannot be guaranteed, the system is designed to function at full capacity for essential functions including heating, ventilation and safety, even in the event of complete connectivity loss. Although the blueprint was developed for rural Moray under the UK Government's Growth Deal investment, its authors are explicit that its principles apply far beyond its origin. The three-horizon framework, the affordability analysis, and the technology stack have all been designed for replication across different tenures, geographies, and housing types. Kaye Keenan, Impact Manager at BE-ST, said: “BE-ST is delighted to support this DHI blueprint, providing guidance and support around sustainable construction and innovation. By prioritising construction methods and materials with low embodied energy, it aligns with Scotland's net zero ambitions whilst also considering rural-specific design challenges. The design of the blueprint is a great opportunity for creating embedded adoptability in smart rural homes.” ENVISION is published today alongside complementary Living Lab outputs and launched as part of an online webinar on 2 June 2026. To register for the upcoming webinar (02.06.26 - 13:00 - 14:30) click here Learn more: here

We are currently recruiting participants for upcoming SAFXR focus groups and are keen to hear from professionals working across healthcare, social care, emergency services, and education. SAFXR (Safety Planning for Suicide Prevention XR) is an innovative extended reality (XR) tool designed to support individuals at risk of suicide or experiencing severe mental health challenges. The project aims to strengthen practitioner confidence, competence, and emotional resilience when managing high-risk situations, while also supporting practitioner wellbeing and reflective practice. As SAFXR continues to develop, we are inviting professionals to help shape the future direction of the tool through a series of co-design workshops and focus group discussions. Your insights and lived professional experience will play an important role in ensuring SAFXR is practical, impactful, and relevant to frontline settings. To learn more about the project, you can now watch the SAFXR stakeholder webinar recording here: Interested in taking part in a SAFXR focus group? Register your interest here: SAFXR is delivered in partnership by: Care Reality (Lead Partner) University of Glasgow Public Service Delivery Scotland Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI)

DLS announces 3 new partnerships for 2026-27 The Digital Lifelines team are excited to announce three new locations for the next year of the programme. Alcohol and Drugs Partnerships (ADP) in Aberdeenshire, Dundee and Moray have successfully applied for funding. This next year will build on the achievements of Angus and East Ayrshire ADPs which were so powerfully shared at the DLS Conference in March 2026. Angus and East Ayrshire will remain with the programme until autumn this year as they continue to embed their experiences, acting as advisors and advocates for our new partnerships. We will continue a place-based and person-led approach which will incorporate Digital Inclusion and Digital Products workstreams and seek to identify new ways of working to better integrate services for people who use drugs. Very much a collaboration with frontline services, working with people with lived and living experience, to ensure the programme remains relevant and impactful for beneficiaries. DLS will be supporting the locations to deliver key Scottish Government priorities outlined in the recently published strategic plan for drugs and alcohol: Preventing Harm, Promoting Recovery. Implementation will align with the seven fundamental rights essential for recovery and wellbeing as determined by the Charter of Rights for People Affected by Substance Use. Remaining at the core of the programme will be knowledge exchange through Communities of Learning and Shared Learning events, and the team intend engaging widely with previously funded partners, and other organisations and ADPs with a keen interest in embedding digital inclusion and digital services for people who use drugs. The DLS Conference will return in March 2027 too. We are grateful to the other ADPs who submitted applications and made the selection of Aberdeenshire, Dundee and Moray so difficult. Our new partnerships will explore a variety of pathways from the significant challenges faced by women to residential and independent living; for prison to community support and other critical transition pathways; for harm reduction services and recovery and ongoing support. It will be an invigorating and dynamic mix of opportunities, and the team are especially delighted to engage with its first city-based ADP. Please contact the team if you have any question about DLS or wish to be kept informed of future progress: digital.lifelines@dhi-scotland.com Digital Lifelines Scotland is managed by the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI) in conjunction with core partners SCVO and Simon Community Scotland and supported by Public Services Delivery Scotland. The third phase of DLS is funded by The Alcohol and Drugs Support Division in the Scottish Government with previous phases also receiving funding from Digital Health and Care Division and the Drug Deaths Taskforce in the Scottish Government.