2021
Goal
To improve the end-of-life experience of terminally ill patients by leading them to advanced care planning and documenting final wishes through our product and service design intervention.
Responsibilities
Project Duration: 10 weeks
My role:
I was in charge of conceptualization, communication design, pitch presentation, Prototyping- bacterial testing, modelling, 3D printing and identity design- branding, and packaging design.
Mentor: Olli Cotsaftis, Bio-designer & Lecturer - RMIT University
Problem
"How can we enable and encourage more Australians to think about and express their choices for their end-of-life experience?"
Brief
We investigated many zones through this project to design a pleasant experience for the end of life. Final farewells are significant life events that are rarely planned and are frequently chaotic or distressing. These moments frequently occur in loud intensive care units, public hospital rooms, nursing homes, on the phone, or not at all. Those left behind were left in emotional limbo, wishing they'd realised it was the final time they'd seen a loved one or wishing they'd had more time to say goodbye 'properly.' We investigated approaches to design for end-of-life experiences as our physical and digital worlds become increasingly intertwined. We used a salutogenic approach to planning the final farewell in collaboration with The Health Transformation Lab. Salutogenic design is a comprehensive approach to design that prioritises physical and mental wellness. The design interventions that resulted used service design techniques, videography, and physical and digital fabrication processes to re-frame and re-invent the last farewell through careful negotiations of digital, material, and human modalities. We collaborated with industry partners, such as the Alfred Hospital and the Peter Mac Cancer Center, on this initiative. The project's intended goals are significant design interventions of a spatial, artefact, or product-service systems nature that improve the health of patients, physicians, and families at a point of intersection.
Approach
Method: Salutogenic approach
The study began by investigating the challenges with the present societal framework and what is preventing people from discussing death and planning for the end of life. We came up with three project directions and tried to blend them into our design based on the many pain points and possibilities discovered to fulfil our objectives.
1) Conversation
2) Death Literacy
3) Advanced Care planning
Later, the research directed into understanding the stages of the end of life of a person in a palliative care unit through journey mapping. Identifying Pain points and precedence analysis. Concept development activities: Business Model, Value Proposition, Storyboarding, Prototyping activities: Storyboarding, modelling, 3d printing, user experience testing, product lifecycle design.
Concluding thoughts
I'm pleased with the outcome of this collaboration with the Health Transformation Lab. End-of-life care is a topic that still takes a great deal of understanding, is difficult to discuss, and necessitates cultural acceptability, so being able to work with an organisation that understands and works around this concern has been an incredible opportunity.