Design thinking to improve implementation of public health interventions: an exploratory case study on enhancing park use

Abstract

Design thinking, a human-centred, iterative process to innovate solutions aligned with communities' tacit knowledge, has the potential to augment public health interventions. This paper presents a case study of a design thinking workshop to illustrate the process and methods to train public health researchers. A workshop was conducted to engage participants in a systematic, nonlinear process of design thinking to design possible interventions to enhance use of renovated New York City parks.Participants engaged in exercises to rapidly craft proposals for park re-design. The process involved learning about design methods to overcome limitations of linear thinking and how design thinking can be applied to public health problems that require community input.The case study demonstrated the feasibility of training public health researchers in design thinking methods that can be applied to public health problems. With increased capacity, public health researchers could apply design thinking to community collaborations to develop solutions embedded in the unique contexts of the community.

Health Design Thinking: An Innovative Approach in Public Health to Defining Problems and Finding Solutions

“…The workshop occurs in person over the course of approximately two hours. It includes a brief, didactic introduction to Design Thinking methodology and reviews case studies demonstrating real-world applications of Design Thinking in public health, such as improving public park spaces and addressing social determinants of infant mortality inequities ( 12 , 20 ). The remainder of the session involves hands-on activities centered on a design challenge related to health behavior change.…”

“…Frequently applied in industries such as business and technology, a Design Thinking approach recognizes that only an approximate 10% of new products or services successfully identify and respond to end-users' needs, meaning that the other 90% result in wasted time, funding, and other resources ( 11 ). In health care, Design Thinking has facilitated improvements in patient, provider, and community satisfaction, and can increase the efficiency and collaborative nature of intervention development ( 9 , 12 ). When compared to traditional problem-solving methods in health care and public health, Design Thinking has demonstrated greater empathy for the needs of a community, a clearer understanding of the problem, more resource-efficient and cost-effective processes, and solutions with greater end-user satisfaction ( 12 – 15 ).…”

“…In health care, Design Thinking has facilitated improvements in patient, provider, and community satisfaction, and can increase the efficiency and collaborative nature of intervention development ( 9 , 12 ). When compared to traditional problem-solving methods in health care and public health, Design Thinking has demonstrated greater empathy for the needs of a community, a clearer understanding of the problem, more resource-efficient and cost-effective processes, and solutions with greater end-user satisfaction ( 12 – 15 ). For example, this approach has translated to increased use of public park spaces and improved efficacy of app-based behavior change interventions ( 12 , 15 ).…”

“…When compared to traditional problem-solving methods in health care and public health, Design Thinking has demonstrated greater empathy for the needs of a community, a clearer understanding of the problem, more resource-efficient and cost-effective processes, and solutions with greater end-user satisfaction ( 12 – 15 ). For example, this approach has translated to increased use of public park spaces and improved efficacy of app-based behavior change interventions ( 12 , 15 ). Furthermore, Design Thinking is well-suited to problem solving in the built environment, serving as a tool to combat health inequities and issues rooted in social determinants of health ( 9 , 16 ).…”

Converging on Bladder Health through Design Thinking: From an Ecology of Influence to a Focused Set of Research Questions

“…The core tenets of design thinking include understanding end users' desires, creating models to examine complex problems, developing prototypes to explore solutions, and tolerating failure as teams iterate on prototypes toward an optimal solution [14,15]. This approach has been used by corporate strategy teams, government services, and social change campaigns-and increasingly by health professionals-to solve complex problems [16][17][18][19]. Applying principles of design thinking to the development of research questions may likewise foster more comprehensive and innovative studies to inform prevention science and health promotion activities [13,14].…”