What is Patient Empowerment?
Shared decision making and patient-centred healthcare are central for increasing life quality of people suffering from cancer and chronic diseases. In collaboration with hospitals we use design to improve healthcare practices and the communication between health professionals, patients and their relatives.
These are our projects involving Patient Empowerment:
What is Pateient Empowerment?
Shared decision making and patient-centred healthcare are central for increasing life quality of people suffering from cancer and chronic diseases. In collaboration with hospitals we use design to improve healthcare practices and the communication between health professionals, patients and their relatives.
These are our projects involving Patient Empowerment:
THE PATIENT EMPOWERMENT KIT
Designing a self-aid kit for cancer patients
The demographic changes, and the digitalized information society, present challenges across borders and across Europe. Therefore we will have to deal not only with a rising number of elderly patients and growing demands on the healthcare system, but also with an utterly new generation of patients. They will want to take an active part in their health management and in the choice and actual form of their therapy. One of the future challenges will be to create new tools that can inform and activate patients as well as enabling them to carry out various forms of self-management.
Our contribution to the 3 year EU-funded PROMETHEUS project are twofold:
On the basis of the involvement of cancer patients we have develop detailed patient profiles giving health professionals insight into patient’s individual notions of life quality during cancer treatment
We have develop a shared decision making tool that enables patients to better navigate through options of medical, complementary and alternative treatment.
“The kit should support patient’s individual needs and quality of life through pro-active help supplies.”
PUBLICATIONS
Materiality in Probes – three perspectives for co-exploringPatient Democracy
Knutz, E., Markussen, T., Mårbjerg Thomsen, S.CoDesignRead it here
Inquiring into Politics of Patient Democracy through Probing
Knutz, E., Markussen, T.,Birkelund, R.Proc. of the 7th Nordic Design Research Conference, 2017Read it here
Researchers:
Eva Knutz, Signe Mårbjerg Thomsen, Thomas Markussen Department of Design & Communication, University of Southern Denmark and Health Services Research Unit, Vejle Hospital
Partners:
The Health Service Research Unit, Vejle Hospital, Aarhus University and Kiel University Hospital
Project time:
August 2015 – August 2018
Funded by:
InterReg 5a project, grant number 07-1.0-15.
Budget:
2,199,693 EUR
HUM-SEED
The aim of the HUM SEED project is to conduct a pilot study of whether cancer patients, who make dietary changes and self-treatment has a chance of stabilising their illness. Moreover, the project will extend existing collaborative ties between researchers at the Department of Design & Communication and Lillebælt Hospital’s Health Services Research Unit and Urological Research Unit in order to strengthen cross-disciplinary research competences
Researchers:
Thomas Markussen, Eva Knutz, Department of Design & Communication, University of Southern Denmark
Partners:
Professor Jette Ammentorp Enheden for Sundhedstjeneste -forskning. Chief physician and professor Palle Sloth Urologisk department, Vejle Hospital
Project time:
January 2015 – June 2019
Funded by:
SDU’s Strategic Research Funding
Budget:
3.737.00 Kr.
HERACLES
The task of the social design unit in the 3-year EU-funded HERACLES project is to develop and evaluate the patient empowerment kit. This kit is designed to increase cancer patients’ life quality by offering tools, coping tactics and advices that other patients have valued in the course of their treatment.
What is unique about it is that it’s content is informed by cancer patients, who have experienced the disease on their own body. By bringing together tools, tactics and advices from patients who have gone through medical, alternative or complementary treatment, the patient empowerment kit unites strategies and perspectives which remain largely uncoordinated in the Danish healthcare system.
Patient empowerment kit is organised into 4 compartments:
1. Tactics for coping with side-effects of medical treatment using fx acupuncture
2. Network strategies for improving family life through support from relatives and friends
3. Everyday tactics for coping with anxiety and stress
4. Alternative treatment strategies such as dietary changes and alkaline food
“Patient empowerment kit is designed for cancer patients to enable self-care coping with a life threatening disease and inspire hope for the future.”
PUBLICATIONS
Here
HereHereRead it here
Here
HereHereRead it here
Researchers:
Eva Knutz, Flemming Thøisen, Thomas Markussen Department of Design & Communication, University of Southern Denmark
Partners:
The Health Service Research Unit, Vejle Hospital and Kiel University Hospital
Project time:
2018 – 2021
Funded by:
EU-Interreg
Budget:
1,020,417 EUR
