On April 30th, the brightly lit auditorium of The Women’s Building housed a special UCSF event, entitled The Design Fair, that hoped to do something quite radical: develop a new model of perinatal care for publicly-insured women. What made this event so unique was not only what was being developed, but who was doing the developing. It is an unfortunate truth that the people most impacted by healthcare policies and structures are rarely included in the creation of those policies and structures, in this case, publicly-insured San Francisco women. UCSF’s Joint Perinatal Health Equity Project has been determined to correct that. The project, which is a partnership between UCSF Health, UCSF & ZSFG ObGyn, and California Preterm Birth Initiative, has spent the last six months interviewing both maternity care providers and women enrolled in Medi-Cal about the ideal perinatal healthcare service. After multiple community-based workshops, the interview themes were synthesized into eight possible prototypes ranging from concepts like mobile clinics to institutionalized patient-physician social events in order to build trust. It was these eight prototypes that acted as the centerpiece of Monday night’s festivities.

Over the course of the evening, people of all different backgrounds streamed into the large space, from community members with sleeping babies to fetal surgeons. In the corner, Silly Lilly, a white-faced, red-nosed clown, happily sketched out mystical creatures on squirming toddler’s faces as their mothers loaded plates with locally catered food. Around the perimeter of the room sat eight stations, each adorned with a large poster that detailed the station’s prototype. Once everyone was settled at their assigned station with food and face paint, the clock began. Within the allotted five minutes the groups shared their thoughts and feelings about the specific prototype; what they liked about it, and what they didn’t. After five minutes, the entire auditorium stood up and rotated stations. The model used for the project, which is facilitated by UCSF’s The Better Lab, is called the Human-Centered Design Process. This is a creative approach to problem-solving that begins with the people who will be impacted by the design and ends with solutions that are crafted specifically for those people’s needs. After only an hour and a half of intensive feedback, the auditorium emptied as it’s inhabitance journeyed home, plates of food in hand. Though the project’s intention is to eventually implement the prototypes, it is safe to say that the process alone has shifted something powerful within all of its audience member’s lives; the knowledge that every voice counts.
 

Add Your Voice

Please use this link to see the new ideas and give us your thoughts and feedback on concepts prototyped at the Design Fair. You can love or hate the ideas…we need honest feedback from those who will be impacted ensure we make the right changes! The survey will take about 5-10 minutes. 
OR to receive the survey link on your smartphone: Text “pregSF” to: 474-747

Utiliza este enlace para ver las nuevas ideas y darnos tu opinión y comentarios. Puedes amar u odiar las ideas ... necesitamos comentarios honestos de aquellos que se verán afectados, ¡asegúrate de hacer los cambios correctos! La encuesta tomará de 5 a 10 minutos.
Para recibir el enlace de la encuesta en su teléfono: Texto “pregSF” to: 474-747