Designing for health and wellbeing depends on people performing particular behaviors...
And to perform a particular behavior, we as the designers or strategiests need to have a deep understanding of behavior, the drivers and levers we have to enable change.
More specifically, if we are talking about digital health - an area I work in with clients, I am referring to the use of technology and electronic communication tools to improve health and healthcare services.
The possibilities for how you integrate technology into health care are endless, but here are a few examples: -Apps which help patients to self-manage their condition
-Healthcare platforms which provide patients with holistic emotional and psychological support
-Software which enhances patient- clinician communication
If you work in this area, you should be familiar with some of the following behaviors and outcomes of those behaviors as well.
When people perform a behavior: -Using apps to complete digitally enabled PROMs for clinicians to review
They can achieve a positive health outcomes: -Faster diagnosis of flare for patients with an inflammatory condition, for example IBD
The reason you should take a behavioral approach to designing and developing products for health and wellbeing is because they almost always depend on behavior change to work.
Because, behavior changes are central to positive outcomes in digital health.
1. Self-monitoring behaviors: Patients often need to enact self monitoring behaviors to actively track data about themselves. For example, filling in food diaries, filling out PROMs for clinicians to review or entering glucose levels from blood test results.
2.
Staff adoption behaviors
Members of healthcare staff often have to change their behaviors to implement new health tech solutions
3.
Positive health self management behaviors
Patients often need to adopt new behaviors, e.g. exercising or taking medication. And sometimes they need to stop old behaviors, like drinking alcohol or itching if they have eczema!
There are of course no lack of challenges when designing for digital health, such as:
1) Instant vs long term gratification Motivation needs to be intrinsic and not instant, and in health, gratification is mostly long term and not immediate.
2) Lack of engagement Difficulty in achieving health outcomes without active engagement with the programme
3) Many external influences Think about the context, culture, habits, routines and other aspects influence the behavior
When you have a deeper understanding of behavior, it facilitates you overcoming these challenges and enables better outcomes. Here is a good book to help you get more context in designing for health (lots of examples and covers non digital as well - good for ideas)
Health Design Thinking by Ku and Lupton