Design for Health Behavior Change

Catalog description

How might we get users of HIV self-tests to report their test results on a mobile app? How might vending machine design reduce soda consumption? How might we reduce alert fatigue in bedside nursing? How might tapping into social norms boost rates of mammography screening or reduce overprescribing of antibiotics? This course explores the answers to these questions and many more through the complementary lenses of design thinking and behavioral economics. Design thinking is a structured approach to innovation and problem solving that puts human needs at the center of solutioning. Behavioral economics, a field at the intersection of psychology and economics, helps us understand the fundamental psychological forces—including cognitive biases, mental shortcuts, and inconsistent time preferences—that might lead us to act against our best interest. With the theoretical insights of behavioral economics and the pragmatic, solutions-focused orientation of design thinking, we will develop and prototype desirable, feasible, and viable interventions to change health-related behaviors. Through lectures on behavioral economics theory, critical discussions of the empirical literature (including ethical and equity considerations), and hands-on practice applying human-centered design techniques to multiple design challenges, students will build relevant, practical expertise in behavioral design for public health and health care innovation. It is recommended students have prior coursework in, or a working knowledge of, epidemiology.