WILL | Wellbeing Initiative for Learning and Living 

Conceptual project

I started my professional career with the intention of becoming a doctor, but along the way, after glancing at the complicated landscape of the healthcare system, I figured I could probably add more value by addressing the challenges of healthcare from behind the scenes. This means my journey towards service design and innovation really started with a particular passion for health and healthcare.

I have worked on 2 huge capstone/thesis projects during my educational journey. Here you can catch a glance on my master’s degree project.

The present healthcare system is design to address acute illnesses, it was never intended to deal with life-long patients suffering from chronic diseases, where the goal of treatment and medical services focus on quality of life instead of finding specific treatments and cures. This is no secret. Still, making changes to this immense economy/sector is not an easy task.

Different models of care have been designed revealing the need of a multidisciplinary approach to treating chronic illnesses. These models are based on the general principle that the patient's involvement and ability to manage the condition is indispensable for overall treatment success. Still, these models have not been planned to be adaptable to different settings like access to technology, and have yet to provide the tools for patients, caregivers and healthcare teams to work together. 

WILL is a strategic model based on a human-centered approach of effective collaboration among patients, caregivers, and providers using specific tools and models to drive social innovation by adapting healthcare services to optimize community resources. 

To facilitate the implementation of these methodology, the WILL Method Cards were designed. With these cards, all participants can easily understand the best ways in which each member should contribute to enable proper care.

The set of cards comprehends requirements, steps, recommendations, processes, milestones, and tips that simplify interaction among patients, healthcare team, and caregivers through each stage of the methodology (Define, Design, and Deliver Care). By using this tool, actors can strategize, plan, and execute processes for how and when. 

Project collaborators: Denise Tahara, Carolina Rivera, Nazli Ceren Binyildirim, David-Georges Renaud, Hussain (Zafar) Indorewala

Video credits: Sung Han