Patient and Designer Collaboration in Cocreating Technical Innovations in a Hospital-Based Makerspace: Qualitative...

Area of Science:

• Health innovation
• Human-computer interaction
• Design thinking

Background:

• Hospital-based makerspaces facilitate collaborative technical innovation between designers, healthcare professionals, and patients.
• Patient insights are crucial for developing patient-centered health care services and research but are underutilized in makerspace cocreation.
• Understanding patient-designer interactions is key to enhancing collaborative innovation effectiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the cocreation experiences of designers and patients within an academic hospital-based makerspace.
• To understand the dynamics and outcomes of patient-designer collaboration in a practical innovation setting.

Main Methods:

• A generic qualitative study utilizing semistructured individual interviews.
• Recruited a heterogeneous sample of 12 participants (6 designers, 6 patients/carers) from a Dutch academic hospital makerspace.
• Thematic analysis was employed to analyze interview data.

Main Results:

• Four themes emerged: patient situations, integrating perspectives, feeling valuable, and dynamic engagement.
• Collaboration was perceived as valuable for innovation, leveraging diverse patient and designer viewpoints.
• Patient involvement levels fluctuated based on health status, accessibility, and interest.

Conclusions:

• Developing technical innovations with hospitalized patients is complex but positively viewed by participants.
• Effective collaboration requires respecting patient autonomy and consistent early involvement throughout development.
• Recommendations include maintaining communication and actively seeking feedback for successful patient-designer innovation.