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Uncovering the needs of healthcare specialists
Project Type
User-centred design research. Discovery phase.
Location
We worked across NHS Wales hospitals in Swansea Bay University Health Board and Hywel Dda University Health Board.
Date
May-Sept 2023
Funder
Research funded by the Tidal N+ (funded through the EPSRC)
In this stage of our work, we discovered what is preventing the development of co-designed AT services through working with healthcare-based specialists from across the assistive device ecosystem such as rehabilitation engineers, occupational therapists and physiotherapists. Ethics approval was granted and informed consent taken from all participants.
At the start of the process, we asked workshop participants to complete a persona card which included details of their position, experience, best thing about their job. The second section asked for more detail on assistive technology.
We then used a journey map to illustrate the current process of co-designing assistive technology. This illustrated details describing the time taken at each stage, who was involved, resources used, etc. This was used as a prompt for discussion amongst the workshop participants.
Participants were then asked to collaboratively complete an ecosystem map, detailing their connections within and outside the NHS ecosystem.
The final tool used was a self-rating scale where participants' rated their level of desire and competence in designing assistive technology. This helped to gauge the level of desire and ability to design and make devices.
The tools generated a lot of conversation. Notes were captured during each workshop, resulting in a huge volume of qualitative data.
