Abstract:This approach could be applied in other fields, such as medical education on a larger scale, clinical practice, and the design of scientific research.
“…There are examples of human centred design for healthcare management [ 21 , 22 ] and some major healthcare organizations in the United States have their own internal innovation units that incorporate design thinking into everyday practice settings [ 23 , 24 ]. Design thinking has also been incorporated into education for health care workers and public health practitioners including public health students [ 25 ], medical professionals [ 26 ], and for evaluation of interprofessional health education [ 27 ].…”
Health and wellbeing are determined by a number of complex, interrelated factors. The application of design thinking to questions around health may prove valuable and complement existing approaches. A number of public health projects utilizing human centered design (HCD), or design thinking, have recently emerged, but no synthesis of the literature around these exists. The results of a scoping review of current research on human centered design for health outcomes are presented. The review aimed to understand why and how HCD can be valuable in the contexts of health related research. Results identified pertinent literature as well as gaps in information on the use of HCD for public health research, design, implementation and evaluation. A variety of contexts were identified in which design has been used for health. Global health and design thinking have different underlying conceptual models and terminology, creating some inherent tensions, which could be overcome through clear communication and documentation in collaborative projects. The review concludes with lessons learned from the review on how future projects can better integrate design thinking with global health research.
“…There are examples of human centred design for healthcare management [ 21 , 22 ] and some major healthcare organizations in the United States have their own internal innovation units that incorporate design thinking into everyday practice settings [ 23 , 24 ]. Design thinking has also been incorporated into education for health care workers and public health practitioners including public health students [ 25 ], medical professionals [ 26 ], and for evaluation of interprofessional health education [ 27 ].…”
Health and wellbeing are determined by a number of complex, interrelated factors. The application of design thinking to questions around health may prove valuable and complement existing approaches. A number of public health projects utilizing human centered design (HCD), or design thinking, have recently emerged, but no synthesis of the literature around these exists. The results of a scoping review of current research on human centered design for health outcomes are presented. The review aimed to understand why and how HCD can be valuable in the contexts of health related research. Results identified pertinent literature as well as gaps in information on the use of HCD for public health research, design, implementation and evaluation. A variety of contexts were identified in which design has been used for health. Global health and design thinking have different underlying conceptual models and terminology, creating some inherent tensions, which could be overcome through clear communication and documentation in collaborative projects. The review concludes with lessons learned from the review on how future projects can better integrate design thinking with global health research.
“…DT has garnered attention as a tool in medical education to redesign curricula and encourage students to solve problems using creativity and collaboration 1 2. We applied DT to the ethical problem of how best to allocate the scarce resource of organs for transplantation to meet the needs of the population.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Design thinking (DT) is a process for creative problem solving which uses diverse data sources to develop creative solutions to problems 1–3. Originating in the business world, DT has been applied to medical education to emphasise interdisciplinary collaboration, creativity and communication skills 4.…”
BackgroundDesign thinking (DT) is a tool for generating and exploring ideas from multiple stakeholders. We used DT principles to introduce students to the ethical implications of organ transplantation. Students applied DT principles to propose solutions to maximise social justice in liver transplant allocation.MethodsA 150 min interactive workshop was integrated into the longitudinal ethics curriculum. Following a group didactic on challenges of organ donation in the USA supplemented by patient stories, teams of students considered alternative solutions to optimise fairness of organ distribution and ethical implications of changing the current model. Facilitators led students through DT steps of empathy, defining the team’s point of view, ideating on potential solutions, prototyping a specific idea and testing the idea through oral presentation, with questions and answers by peers and faculty. The curriculum was evaluated with presurveys and postsurveys including quantitative and open-ended items.Results100 first year medical students participated. Before the session, 75.3% of students had no practical experience with DT. Following participation, students reported an increased understanding of the current liver transplant allocation system (p<0.01) and an increased appreciation of shortcomings of the current organ allocation system (p<0.01). After the session, 73.8% of students felt that DT could be used to approach complex health system problems.DiscussionStudents participating in a DT workshop displayed improved knowledge and attitudes toward organ transplantation and DT. In this pilot study, DT showed promise as a student-led approach emphasising collaboration and creativity in ethics curricula in medical education.
Background
Design thinking is a problem-solving framework that has been used to enhance patient experiences, improve clinical outcomes, and refine medical curricula. This study reviewed the use of design thinking in health professions education.
Methods
A search yielded 169 articles, which were excluded if they were: (1) not related to education; (2) lacking an application of design thinking; or (3) not associated with healthcare. The final review yielded 15 articles, which were analyzed using qualitative methods.
Results
All articles were published in 2009 or later and were diverse in their context, participants, and approach. Six studies emphasized the early stages of design thinking, with inspiration and ideation stages fostered through a variety of activities, such as lectures, small group discussions, and workshops. Studies examined a range of outcomes, including self-efficacy, perceptions, and solutions to a specific problem.
Conclusions
Our findings raise important considerations for health professions education, including the extent to which we should: 1) teach design thinking to students as a skill-based tool to prepare students for problem solving in complex healthcare environments; and 2) use design thinking to create, implement, and refine health professions curricula and educational programs. Despite the apparent benefits of design thinking, many questions for health professions education remain.
Electronic supplementary material
The online version of this article (10.1186/s12909-019-1528-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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