Health Design Studio's New Space + Their COVID-19 Response

A photograph of one of the printables lying on a wooden desk. The printable contains information on self-management of COVID-19 symptoms.

OCAD University’s Health Design Studio, led by Dr. Kate Sellen, Canada Research Chair in Design for Health, moved into its newly renovated space at on the 3rd floor of 205 Richmond Street West earlier this year.   

With funding through the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s (CFI) John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF) and the Ontario Research Fund – Small Infrustructure Program, the Health Design Studio has been outfitted with a new user testing space, prototype development space and collaborative workshop space to support leading-edge research into the design of tools and systems used in highly dynamic and urgent situations in health care. 

Sellen and her research team bring an inclusive and interdisciplinary design approach to healthcare design challenges. Much of their work focuses on design for safety critical and high sensitivity topics, including the dosing, ordering, tapering, and management of opiates, and communication at end of life. Sellen is also designing effective information tools to perform small, discreet tasks in health care. Many of her projects are centered on developing new ways to represent information in specific medical situations, such as medication calculations, as well as tools to support complex tasks and information for dynamic situations, such as emergencies.  

One such project is the COVID-19 printables project. Launched on February 27th, the project is a response to a call from emergency physicians in Toronto and Alberta for patient-centered communication tools for rapid assessment centers and emergency departments. The resulting infographic, plain language handouts on testing, self-isolation, and self-management are now available in over 40 languages. The printables are being downloaded and used in emergency departments, refugee services and community health centers, both in Canada and worldwide, and have been endorsed by the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians and the Canadian Institute for Health Information. They address the need for easy to understand, editable and shareable resources based on current guidelines. 

The next phase of the project seeks to convert the existing printables into digital animations with voiceover for spread over social media in top priority languages. 

The success of this project has prompted several requests for the Health Design Studio to also create resources on self-isolation and social distancing in apartment and condominium buildings, and supports for end of life decision making and mental health concerns related to COVID-19, amongst others. 

Department: 

A photograph of one of the printables lying on a wooden desk. The printable contains information on self-management of COVID-19 symptoms.

OCAD University’s Health Design Studio, led by Dr. Kate Sellen, Canada Research Chair in Design for Health, moved into its newly renovated space at on the 3rd floor of 205 Richmond Street West earlier this year.   

With funding through the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s (CFI) John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF) and the Ontario Research Fund – Small Infrustructure Program, the Health Design Studio has been outfitted with a new user testing space, prototype development space and collaborative workshop space to support leading-edge research into the design of tools and systems used in highly dynamic and urgent situations in health care. 

Sellen and her research team bring an inclusive and interdisciplinary design approach to healthcare design challenges. Much of their work focuses on design for safety critical and high sensitivity topics, including the dosing, ordering, tapering, and management of opiates, and communication at end of life. Sellen is also designing effective information tools to perform small, discreet tasks in health care. Many of her projects are centered on developing new ways to represent information in specific medical situations, such as medication calculations, as well as tools to support complex tasks and information for dynamic situations, such as emergencies.  

One such project is the COVID-19 printables project. Launched on February 27th, the project is a response to a call from emergency physicians in Toronto and Alberta for patient-centered communication tools for rapid assessment centers and emergency departments. The resulting infographic, plain language handouts on testing, self-isolation, and self-management are now available in over 40 languages. The printables are being downloaded and used in emergency departments, refugee services and community health centers, both in Canada and worldwide, and have been endorsed by the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians and the Canadian Institute for Health Information. They address the need for easy to understand, editable and shareable resources based on current guidelines. 

The next phase of the project seeks to convert the existing printables into digital animations with voiceover for spread over social media in top priority languages. 

The success of this project has prompted several requests for the Health Design Studio to also create resources on self-isolation and social distancing in apartment and condominium buildings, and supports for end of life decision making and mental health concerns related to COVID-19, amongst others. 

Department: