• Rachel Murray, Javiera Arenas, Ankita Roy

  • Hum: A design approach to helping families with terminal illness

    Advising
    Facing death can be a devastating and frightening experience. We are often unprepared to deal with the prospect of terminal illness and death. How can design help families find ways to cope with conflict after a terminal diagnosis is made? Families' methods of coping with the end of life reflect the way they think about death. They reflect a "save at any cost" rescue culture that has shaped our entire healthcare system. Hum is a service designed to create moments of meaning and connection for patients and their core circle of caregivers through activities that create new rituals and bonds. Inspired by meaning-centered therapy, Hum uses activity-based cards that allow for group experiences of joy, legacy creation, and activities designed to impart family knowledge. These rituals and experiences foster connection and a sense of empowerment at a frightening time. Patients and caregivers learn to handle a range of emotional responses and explore what it means to be comfortable at this difficult stage. The end of life is not a problem for design to solve but rather an opportunity for patients and their caregivers to make meaning and thrive together. See more of this project at https://vimeo.com/195730021 and https://vimeo.com/195682777.
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