VERONICA X. VELA
Advancing Population & Community Health
Through Innovative Problem Solving
DESIGN & INNOVATION IN MEDICAL SCHOOL
In 2018, George Washington University (GW) Medical School tasked third year medical students with developing solutions to address obesity among women and children in Washington, D.C.
The city ranks 50th out of the 51 states for obesity.
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23% of adults are obese
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33% of teenagers are obese
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13% of toddlers are obese.
Many universities focus on traditional population health methods, such as reviewing the literature, analyzing trends and using scholarly frameworks to create health interventions. However, to integrate input from the community, GW wanted to teach students to apply human-centered design (HCD).
This project involved:
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Developing a human-centered design training course and workshop for medical student leaders.
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Incorporating a train the trainer approach so leaders could educate their teams.
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The teams used design techniques to conduct design research, generate new ideas, and pitch their solutions to medical experts.
Photos: Sarah Minkis
We had the best obesity projects presented this year. The students understood the need to gather input from the community. We definitely want to teach human centered design to students in next year's program.
Dean of Clinical Public Health
George Washington University Medical School