Shared decision making: Empathic encounters between design and healthcare

This paper explores the role of design in the context of shared decision making (SDM). Through a reflection of the terms ‘human centred design’ and ‘patient centred care’, the negotiation of human beings’ roles and experiences in both disciplines is highlighted. As a tool for reflection, this paper discusses a pilot study in SDM for breast cancer patients. The research shows that the systemic complexity of healthcare is well aligned to design’s contemporary positioning as a social, participatory endeavour linking people as design partners. The project suggests that the meeting of the two disciplines will profit the most if mutual learnings in methods, language and approaches are seen as part of the added project value and are given room in the design process. Design brief, process and team are three key matters which require alignment towards a more rounded understanding of patients as co-creating the meaning of a healthcare system. By evidence of this pilot study, we argue that design has the means to objectify healthcare obstacles and might thus add tangibility to critical debates on a systemic level.