Surrendering agency in healthcare is something I struggle with too! The distraction versus engagement culture dominates in healthcare - and healthcare design. It's even worse when the healthcare provider perception of the patient is that the patient is not capable of engaging - as in the case of pediatric patients, patients with cognitive decline, or developmental disabilities. Patient engagement however is recognized as a basic human right by WHO, IoM, and UN. I channeled the frustrations I experienced going through healthcare experiences with my young son into this paper, https://journals.uc.edu/index.php/cye/article/view/8356/6809
Thanks for sharing these thoughts Meredith. I'm no expert but I think that one part of this problem comes from the ways that physicians are trained. Just as they are trained to focus on the most common explanations of symptoms (horses not zebras) they might also be trained to treat an "average" patient. At least, I know this is what has happened to me on many occasions. But settings are key, too. I once read a paper (reference long forgotten I'm afraid) that documented how different the conversations between physicians and nurses were depending on the shape of the space that contained the discussion. Alcoves and recesses (some of which at least were accidental parts of a design) changed everything. If an examining room looked less like an examining room I wonder what would change.
Surrendering agency in healthcare is something I struggle with too! The distraction versus engagement culture dominates in healthcare - and healthcare design. It's even worse when the healthcare provider perception of the patient is that the patient is not capable of engaging - as in the case of pediatric patients, patients with cognitive decline, or developmental disabilities. Patient engagement however is recognized as a basic human right by WHO, IoM, and UN. I channeled the frustrations I experienced going through healthcare experiences with my young son into this paper, https://journals.uc.edu/index.php/cye/article/view/8356/6809
Thanks for sharing these thoughts Meredith. I'm no expert but I think that one part of this problem comes from the ways that physicians are trained. Just as they are trained to focus on the most common explanations of symptoms (horses not zebras) they might also be trained to treat an "average" patient. At least, I know this is what has happened to me on many occasions. But settings are key, too. I once read a paper (reference long forgotten I'm afraid) that documented how different the conversations between physicians and nurses were depending on the shape of the space that contained the discussion. Alcoves and recesses (some of which at least were accidental parts of a design) changed everything. If an examining room looked less like an examining room I wonder what would change.