Design for Multi-Dimensional Stages of Lymphoedema Self-Management

This study investigates the experience of people with the chronic medical condition lymphoedema, to inform the design of new products. Articles from literature that describe lived lymphoedema experiences are thematically synthesised from a behavioural lens. People with lymphoedema go through stages toward achieving levels of expertise, motivation and routine, to maintain effective self-management in the long-term. A preliminary framework is proposed that presents four themes (competence, autonomy, daily routine and socio-psychological) and their stages. The purpose of the framework is to assist designers in understanding how people with lymphoedema experience self-management. Focusing on facilitating a transition through these multi-dimensional stages is suggested as a means to aid the design of supportive health products. Related design implementations are discussed through product examples. This framework is developed as part of a wider research project, where the following stages will be concerned with refinement of the framework through primary research with people with lymphoedema and their healthcare providers

What Design Research Does ... : 62 Cards Highlighting the Power and Impact of UK-based Design Research in Addressing a Range of Complex Social, Economic, Cultural and Environmental Issues

Design research makes a significant contribution to the UK economy and society as a whole. Ever since the establishment of the Government Schools of Design in the nineteenth century, the UK has been widely acknowledged as an international leader in design research. Following this lead, the What Design Research Does… cards highlight the wide range of social, economic, cultural and environmental impacts that design research, funded and based in the UK, makes all over the world. The 62 cards illustrate unambiguously the positive changes that contemporary UK-based design researchers are making in many complex issues. Each What Design Research Does… card lists the challenges and issues faced by the design researchers, who they collaborated with, the research methods and approaches taken, the outcomes of the design research, what the main results and findings have been, and what impact the design research has had. In short, the What Design Research Does… cards clearly articulate the breadth of social, economic, cultural and environmental impacts that UK-based design researchers are achieving today