Communicating Patient Health Data: A Wicked Problem.

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Health Informatics
• Data Visualization

Background:

• Communicating patient-collected health data during clinical visits presents challenges due to diverse stakeholder needs (patients, providers, systems).
• The heterogeneity of users and data requires adaptable visualization strategies, moving beyond one-size-fits-all approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the design space of individualized patient data visualizations for clinical settings.
• To address the complexities of communicating patient data by framing it as a wicked problem.

Main Methods:

• Characterizing the research problem through the lens of wicked problem theory.
• Employing exploratory design methodologies to investigate various visualization solutions.
• Gathering insights from the design process to understand user and system needs.

Main Results:

• The study highlights the 'wicked' nature of designing patient data visualizations, characterized by complexity and lack of a single optimal solution.
• Exploratory design yielded insights into the need for individualized approaches catering to specific patient and healthcare provider requirements.

Conclusions:

• Individualized patient data visualizations are crucial for effective communication in clinical settings.
• Researchers and designers should prioritize patient and provider specificities when developing data visualization tools.