Design challenge

Overview

Our project proposes the creation and use of digital storytelling resources as a hospital staff CPD tool to illustrate the experiences of prisoner patients using medical facilities and services when they visit hospitals for their ongoing diabetes/kidney dialysis/pregnancy treatment. The purpose is to draw attention to the ethical, social, and cultural issues surrounding the care and treatment of prisoner patients and therefore potentially have a positive impact on their professional practice.


Definition of the design challenge

The creation of digital storytelling resources that are engaging and compelling for all levels of hospital staff, even those whose attitudes towards certain types of patient might be biased or lacking in empathy. To mitigate the often held perception of statutory and mandatory online CPD being a tick box exercise, the resources need to be short with concise effective messages which bring the ethical, social, and cultural concepts covered to the fore in ways which offer possible practice approaches the hospital staff could adopt when they encounter prisoner patients. The purpose is to build their knowledge of laws and ethics governing patient care and develop their digital literacy and communication skills.


The key issues which prisoner patients face regarding their healthcare (UCL, 2020) include:

  • Dehumanisation and lack of privacy

  • Patronisation and lack of autonomy

  • Waiting in inappropriate spaces

  • Delays in access to medical care

  • Medication confiscation or non-availability in prison


The additional design challenge is to make the digital storytelling resources and the surrounding guidance accessible, therefore inspiring staff to respond in a variety of productive ways, depending on their context and preferences.


Examples of productive responses might include:

  • Leaving a thought on an NHS staff only ideas board

  • Starting a discussion in an NHS staff discussion forum

  • Creating and sharing their own hypothetical digital story (to protect patient confidentiality)

  • Answering the questions posed in the CPD resources

  • Starting a personal reflective diary


The accessibility element of the design challenge includes:

  • making the wording of how the resources are introduced and described clear, unambiguous, and equitable

  • using Dyslexia friendly fonts

  • providing alternative format versions (including transcripts)

  • creating an adaptable suite of resources (such as images for reuse in their own digital stories)

  • providing guidance (technical and good practice advice) on creating their own personas and digital stories

  • ensuring the resources are mobile responsive


The ethical and privacy element of the design challenge includes:

  • ensuring all guidance on digital story creation provided is grounded in GDPR and patient privacy principles

  • ethical sharing practices are clearly articulated to demonstrate what can be shared with other staff or openly with the public

  • the need to provide safe spaces and appropriate behaviour guidance for staff to discuss the digital stories


The assessment and evaluation element of the design challenge includes:

  • designing assessment activities to be meaningful and engaging (not just a memory test but provide application of learning scenarios)

  • making some assessment activities optional rather than mandatory (such as forum participation or self-assessment reflective diary writing)

  • providing the option (and incentive) to explore the 9 protected characteristics from the Equality Act 2010 more deeply by guiding staff on how to compile personas, develop a digital story around patient centred care and reflect on and practice effective communication skills

  • providing an incentive for completing specific assessment activities (such as a CPD course certificate and/or digital badge)


Reference

University College London (2020) Prisoners experience inequality of healthcare in hospitals, UCL News, [online] Available at: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2020/jun/prisoners-experience-inequality-healthcare-hospitals (Accessed 5 June 2021).

"When people talk listen completely. Don't be thinking what you're going to say. Most people never listen. Nor do they observe. You should be able to go into a room and when you come out know everything that you saw there and not only that. If that room gave you any feeling you should know exactly what it was that gave you that feeling". Ernest Hemingway, Across the River and Into the Trees (1967)

This site is managed by four students of The Open University for study purposes. Personas are fictional.