Tania Ivanka
This paper is a case study of using systems-informed co-design tools in the context of a public dental hospital, with a focus on the fuzzy front end of the co-design process.
Co-design promises to include the user (or patient) in the design process, but tends towards a user-centred approach, with exploration primarily bounded by the service experience. Systems thinking directs us to understand and work at multiple scales and across boundaries of systems.
In this paper I present examples of generative co-design tools developed using the systemic thinking principles of multiple perspectives, awareness of boundaries and understanding of inter-relationships. I then describe the results from using these co-design tools in a needs-finding workshop with patient representatives of a public dental hospital. The generative co-design tools elicited stories of systemic issues that prevent patients from accessing care, and how relational care impacts patient experiences and well-being.
While the findings of this research may not lead to systemic change, they provide an example of how we can ‘listen’ to the system at a relational level through the enhancement of co-design tools with a systems lens.
Keywords: co-design, systemic thinking, dental care, patient experience