"I Want My Chart to Be Just for Me": Community-Engaged Design to Support Outpatient Healthcare for Resettled Communities

TL;DR

This paper presents a community-engaged design approach that leverages the strengths of resettled communities, like storytelling and intergenerational support, to improve outpatient healthcare experiences.

Contribution

It introduces asset-based participatory design methods that build on community strengths rather than focusing on deficits, enhancing healthcare support for resettled populations.

Findings

Identification of community assets such as storytelling and intergenerational support.

Demonstration of participatory design fostering asset-based healthcare solutions.

Design implications for culturally grounded health management technologies.

Abstract

Individuals resettled in a new environment often face challenges in accessing adequate healthcare services, particularly within the complex processes of outpatient clinic care. Cultural differences, language barriers, and low socioeconomic status contribute to these difficulties. While previous studies have identified barriers and proposed technology-mediated solutions for resettled populations, many focus on addressing deficits rather than building on the strengths these communities already possess, which limits the sustainability and relevance of these solutions in everyday life. We conducted two community-based participatory design workshops with 30 Hmong community members in a large metropolitan area in the US. Through this process, we identified four types of assets the community has gradually developed, including intergenerational support for health management and storytelling-based communication practices that facilitate relatable and culturally grounded interactions. We show how participatory design workshops can foster asset-based approaches, and discuss design implications for technologies that leverage patients' existing strengths to support their health management during outpatient visits.