The New School + #SXSW: Benjamin Chase, Design and Technology ’08, Leads Immersive Conversation about Finding Solutions for Healthcare Issues
To improve health in the U.S., we should focus on tackling larger systems or shifting individual choices? We should think of technology as a business opportunity or a public utility?
These were just a few of the many fascinating questions asked by Benjamin Chase, Design and Technology ‘08, and current Managing Director of IDEO.org, during “Design for Health: Moving to Application,” an interactive discussion during #SXSW.
With a yellow line splitting the room in half, participants were asked to move to one side or the other depending on how they felt about a particular question. The exercise helped underline the inherent tensions in the questions related to healthcare that consumers and businesses grapple with everyday.
In his opening remarks, Chase noted that “When we think of our health, we think of visceral things like making sure we get enough water, sleep, and food. We tend not to think about the invisible things that affect our health, like housing, banking, and our education level.”
Throughout the session, Chase asked participants to engage with each other, and articulate their reasons for choosing one side of a given question over another. Various attendees moved around as they listened to people explain their rationale, highlighting the importance of compromise and collaboration necessary to spur innovation in healthcare.
In a slide at the end of the session, Chase asked everyone to consider three design principles to use when thinking about issues related to healthcare: Promote equitable access; Encourage social connection; and Increase agency and resilience.