Service Design in user-centered healthcare – The case of child obesity

Abstract

The Swedish health and medical care system is said to be undergoing a paradigm shift. The emerging paradigm involves a new generation of business models that have their foundation in user needs. The organizational idea in this view is the perception that a greater value will be created when combining efforts that otherwise would not be systematically linked. Projects aimed at developing user-centered systems, however, face the risk of the so-called ‘project death’, as they often only exists during a limited period and rarely reach the full maturation and establishment of an ordinary organisational activity. We have during the course of four months actively explored how Service Design practices might enhance user-centered healthcare projects, through conducting a practical study for improving the overall support for parents with overweight and obese children. It has been a collaborative project between the two pediatric obesity centres in Sweden, at Sahlgrenska Academy in Gothenburg and Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and the Service Design agency Transformator Design, a company with 15 years of experience within the practice. By applying Service Design tools, methods, and mindset, we have been able to understand the care support from a user-centered perspective and represent the user’s voice in our collaboration with the client. We have used qualitative research methods, e.g. interviews and workshops, in order to reach a deeper understanding of the user experience. Following Service Design practice as a co-creative process, the study has been based on a participatory mindset in the interactions and relationship with the stakeholders. From the practical study we could observe that the practices of Service Design contribute outcomes on both a tangible and intangible levels. These levels are equally important in a user-centered healthcare project as they address not only issues of the service in relation to the user, but also to the management and organisational activities that create the service.