"Less is more": A design thinking approach to the development of the agenda-setting conversation cards for people with type 2 diabetes

Kirsten Lomborg; Lene Munch; Freja Holmberg Krøner; Glyn Elwyn

doi:10.1016/j.pecinn.2022.100097

"Less is more": A design thinking approach to the development of the agenda-setting conversation cards for people with type 2 diabetes

PEC Innov. 2022 Nov 10:1:100097. doi: 10.1016/j.pecinn.2022.100097. eCollection 2022 Dec.

Authors

Kirsten Lomborg^{1

2}, Lene Munch¹, Freja Holmberg Krøner¹, Glyn Elwyn³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Research, Copenhagen University Hospital, Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Borgmester Ib Juuls Vej 83, 2730 Herlev, Denmark.
² Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3B, 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark.
³ The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Williamson Translational Research Building, 1 Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA.

Abstract

Objectives: To report a design-thinking approach to a user-centred agenda-setting tool for use in type 2 diabetes clinics.

Methods: The study followed design-thinking phases: emphasizing, defining, and ideating an intervention, followed by iterative user-testing of prototypes. It was conducted at a Danish diabetes center using observations, interviews, workshops, focus groups, and questionnaires.

Results: Nurses wanted to put more emphasis on agenda-setting in status visits. During brainstorms the idea of using illustrated cards that listed key agenda topics was proposed and became the goal of this research. Adopting a design-thinking approach provided the basis for developing prototypes for iterative user-testing that led to a version that was acceptable to stakeholders. The resulting tool, Conversation Cards, was a set of cards that listed and illustrated seven key topics that were considered important to consider during diabetes status visits.

Conclusion: The goal of the Conversation Card intervention is to support collaborative agenda-setting in diabetes status visits. Further evaluation is needed to determine the utility and acceptability of the tool to nurses and to people with diabetes in routine settings.

Innovation: This novel tool is designed to trigger agenda-setting conversations and thereby prioritize individuals' choice of topics to talk about during diabetes status visits.

Keywords: Agenda setting; Communication; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Health services research; Nursing care; Patient participation; Patient-centred care, User-centred design.