Design thinking to improve implementation of public health interventions: an exploratory case study on enhancing park use

Abstract

Design thinking, a human-centred, iterative process to innovate solutions aligned with communities’ tacit knowledge, has the potential to augment public health interventions. This paper presents a case study of a design thinking workshop to illustrate the process and methods to train public health researchers. A workshop was conducted to engage participants in a systematic, non-linear process of design thinking to design possible interventions to enhance use of renovated New York City parks.Participants engaged in exercises to rapidly craft proposals for park re-design. The process involved learning about design methods to overcome limitations of linear thinking and how design thinking can be applied to public health problems that require community input.The case study demonstrated the feasibility of training public health researchers in design thinking methods that can be applied to public health problems. With increased capacity, public health researchers could apply design thinking to community collaborations to develop solutions embedded in the unique contexts of the community.