The Occupational Designer: New Frontiers in Teaching and Clinical Practice
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Earn .1 AOTA CEU (one contact hour and 1.25 NBCOT PDU). See page CE-7 for details. The Occupational Designer: New Frontiers in Teaching and Clinical Practice Kimberly S. Mollo, OTD, OTR/L for years. DT is a human-centered, team-based approach to Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA thinking and problem solving that goes beyond considering how things look (i.e., form), and takes into account how Mikael Avery, MS, OTR/L, MArch things work (i.e., function; Ferreira, Song, Gomes, Garcia, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA & Ferreira, 2015). Breaking this down further, the process of DT incorporates five primary steps in which a team (1) This CE Article was developed in collaboration with AOTA’s gains empathy for the user, (2) defines the problem, (3) Education Special Interest Section. develops ideas to address the uncovered issues, (4) generates prototypes, and (5) tests these prototypes to gain additional ABSTRACT understanding (Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stan- Collaborative problem-solving events incorporating individ- ford, n.d.). Outside of design, the DT process has been used uals within the health care, design, and engineering fields by practitioners across myriad fields, including university that use design thinking (DT) to address current health and K–12 educators to develop new curriculum and teaching care issues are becoming more commonplace in education- methods; engineers, scientists, and marketing professionals al and professional settings. By recognizing occupational to analyze trends and determine gaps in the market for con- therapy’s creative foundation, bringing it to bear on today’s sumer goods; corporate managers to develop novel business opportunities, and working across disciplines, the occupa- strategies; rural medical professionals to create delivery tional therapy profession can become a key partner in these systems for providing comprehensive eye care in developing interprofessional education (IPE) design experiences, effec- countries; and hospital employees to rethink service delivery tively working to meet the objectives stated in the American methods, including patient handoffs (Brown, 2008; Cahn et Occupational Therapy Association’s (2017) Vision 2025. This al., 2016; Nixon, 2013; Zupan, Stritar, & Nabergoj, 2014). article discusses implications for increasing occupational Within health care education, medical schools have been therapy students’ exposure to and presence within design using DT-based interprofessional education (IPE) design through implementing IPE design experiences as part of collaborations to enhance the skill development of students. current occupational therapy education. Examples of design These collaborations incorporate the principles of empathy, experiences within occupational therapy curricula that meet integrative thinking, optimism, and experimentation, with a Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education goal to improve problem solving (Brown, 2008; Ferreira et ACOTE® (2012) standards and that can enhance student al., 2015; Roberts, Fisher, Trowbridge, & Bent, 2016; Van de learning and future practice within this innovative frontier Grift & Kroeze, 2016). are provided. DT principles can also meld well with our occupational therapy process, as described in the Occupational Therapy LEARNING OBJECTIVES Practice Framework, Domain and Process, 3rd Edition (Frame- After reading this article, you should be able to: work; American Occupational Therapy Association [AOTA], 1. Identify the benefits of engaging in IPE design experiences 2014). The DT process has five parts (empathize, define, using DT ideate, prototype, and test), whereas the occupational therapy 2. Describe IPE design experiences that use DT as a consider- process has three (evaluation, intervention, and outcomes). ation for occupational therapy practice Despite the differences in the number of steps and termi- 3. Recognize current academic environments that can support nology, the two processes are remarkably similar. Within IPE design experiences occupational therapy curricula, students learn from the 4. Identify outcome tools that will objectively measure the outset that the occupational profile and analysis of occupa- efficacy of IPE design experiences tional performance of clients during the evaluation process is meant to be client centered; this process can be focused INTRODUCTION: DESIGN THINKING METHODOLOGY on individuals, groups, or populations that are often affected Design thinking (DT) is a methodology popularized by the by illness, disease, or disability. In DT, these steps directly d.school at Stanford University. It has been applied within correspond to the initial phase of empathizing: “The empa- design education and design professional platforms in the thizing mode is the work you do to understand people…. It fields of industrial design, architecture, and user interaction is your effort to understand the way they do things and why, OCTOBER 2017 l OT PRACTICE, 22(19) ARTICLE CODE CEA1017 CE-1 Continuing Education Article CE Article, exam, and certificate are also available ONLINE. Register at http://store.aota.org or call toll-free 877-404-AOTA (2682). their physical and emotional needs, how they think about WHY DESIGN? the world, and what is meaningful to them” (Hasso Plattner In the past decade, there has been an increasing aware- Institute of Design at Stanford, n.d., p. 2). Similar to DT’s ness within occupational therapy education and practice of process of ideate, prototype, and test, occupational therapy the importance of and need for effective design (Sanders & intervention requires a “dynamic interrelationship … where Stappers, 2012). To augment the skills of the occupational evaluation and intervention planning continue throughout therapy student and future clinician, IPE design experiences the implementation process,” and the occupational therapist’s with design students and/or professionals can be used to clinical reasoning is applied to deliver skilled intervention introduce new ideas and approaches that may help to address with targeted outcomes (AOTA, 2014, p. S15). The three-step limitations during occupational performance that negatively process (for DT: ideate, prototype, test; for OT: evaluation, affect participation for individuals and populations (Camp- intervention, outcomes) is repeated, with insights from each bell, 2012; De Couvreur et al., 2012). Collaborations may “test” or “intervention” being funneled back into the next include working with graphic designers to promote health phase of “ideate” or “evaluate” until a final solution is reached literacy and improve user accessibility for mobile apps and in anticipation of the client’s discharge or the completion of wayfinding signage systems, consulting with building and a design project. Both processes are similar in that they allow landscape architects to develop accessible home modifica- the designer or the clinician to work in unison, from under- tions, teaming with fashion designers to develop effective standing to action. clothing modifications, and partnering with industrial In specific terms, as outlined in the Framework, the designers to develop tools and objects that can be used occupational therapy process consistently uses the previously within the built environment (McDonagh, Thomas, Khuri, mentioned DT principles effectively by (1) applying empathy Sears, & Peña-Mora, 2011). Practically speaking, occupa- via therapeutic use of self within “client-centered delivery of tional therapists are frequent “end users” of medical innova- occupational therapy services” (AOTA, 2014, p. S12); (2) col- tion products that are ultimately marketed to clients (Silver, laborating with the client during evaluation and treatment to Binder, Zubcevik, & Zafonte, 2016). Any lack of occupational “allow clients more control in decision making and problem therapy involvement in the beginning design stages of those solving” (AOTA, 2014, p. S12); (3) developing custom plans products may unduly lead to ineffective solutions that are of care through collaboration with other health professionals, produced but rarely used by clients, further limiting occupa- including physical therapists, speech-language pathologists, tional engagement and performance (Campbell, 2011; Nasar licensed clinical social workers, registered nurses, and physi- & Elmer, 2016). cians, via direct and indirect service delivery models (AOTA, Within the past 2 years, design has explicitly emerged 2014); and (4) constructing prototypes during intervention as a potential area of enhanced focus within the various via interactive clinical reasoning skills. These prototypes are domains of occupational therapy practice. Bhakta et al. then (5) tested in real time and result in feedback incor- (2017) described collaboration between occupational therapy porated into successive iterations as “intervention review” students and fashion design students at Washington Univer- (AOTA, 2014, p. S15). sity. Elsewhere, De Couvreur et al. (2012) spoke of emerging Because of the naturally occurring alignment in these design collaborations occurring among occupational thera- processes, occupational therapy, as a health care profession, pists, caregivers, and individuals with disabilities to co-con- is primed to take advantage of the recent interest in DT struct adaptive devices used within community-based health occurring across health care (Reeves et al., 2016). In occu- care projects. Silverman, Bartley, Cohn, Kanics, and Walsh pational therapy,