Participatory Continuing Design: "Living with" Videoconferencing in Rehabilitation

While much research emphasizes design-before-use, we here study design-in-use. The notion of participatory continuing design is introduced to draw attention to the ongoing work of incorporating information and communication technology into work processes in healthcare institutions. Through an empirical case study of how telemedicine, in the form of videoconferencing, was taken up in a rehabilitation hospital in Norway, the nature of such ongoing experimentation, learning, and redesign is described. When contrasted with traditional design-before-use practices, participatory continuing design differs in terms of its timing, object, process, outcome, and participants. We offer recommendations for how such processes can be supported in healthcare organizations.