A Review of Literature of Design Thinking in Health Education

Abstract

Background: The 21st Century skills are crucial for nursing and other health education regarding critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication. To develop these skills, design thinking (DT) framework could be an effective tool. Although it has been introduced to health education for decades, evidence of its application in Thai health care education is still limited.  This article aimed to identify the use and effectiveness of design thinking concept in health care education and discuss further implication.  Method: Search terms, namely, “design thinking” and “health education” were used to search in CINAHL, a journal indexing tool of research literature from nursing and other allied health professions, and Google Scholar. Hand search was used to seek for relevant papers from reference lists. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied for paper selection.  Results: The five articles met inclusion criteria. One is the qualitative review applying scoping review method to review the design thinking framework in health professional education. Three article was a primary research which conducted in interdisciplinary context. One is a research article which discusses about three case study research. All five studies recognized DT as an effective tool for improving quality of health care education, however DT course design should be well designed which should be suitable for student characters.  Conclusion: Design thinking could benefit both health education and health professions education staff. For health education, design thinking could be used to improve critical thinking skill, however precise DT course design and student centered approach is key. DT combining with other frameworks (e.g. system thinking) could be useful for minimizing unintended consequences.