Hinnovic

Strategies for meaningfully involving users in the development of an intelligent power wheelchair

mhivon — Mon, 06 May 2013 06:00:56 +0000

While it is known that power wheelchairs can positively impact on well-being, self-esteem, pain, activity and participation, health professionals who evaluate and train patients to use this technology report that it sometimes cannot be provided to individuals with cognitive, visual and motor problems. Over the past few years, technological advancements have allowed the development of wheelchairs that can drive themselves semi-autonomously according to a predetermined path and avoid obstacles.

more…

The contribution of philanthropy to health innovation

mhivon — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:00:15 +0000

Are you one of those who contributed to the 1,355 billion dollars raised by Canadian charities for hospitals and healthcare institutions in 2011? Do you give time or money to Doctors Without Borders, the Heart and Stroke Foundation or the Alzheimer Society? What do you think about the way the Lucie and André Chagnon Foundation promotes healthy lifestyles in Quebec?

According to the Canada Revenue Agency, 5842 philanthropic organizations are active in the field of health across the country. These fall into three broad categories (Fontan et al., 2011):

Charitable organizations (4516 organizations) focus on the achievement of charitable activities. More than 50% of their funds come from various sources namely from individuals or organizations who are independent from each other. The Autism Resource Centre Inc. is an example.
Public foundations (1034 organizations) are different from the first category in that their main activity consists in raising funds to finance charities. More than 50% of their income goes to such qualified donees. The Alberta Cancer Foundation is an example.
Private foundations (292 organizations) are different from the two previous categories in that they do charitable activities and fund other qualified donees, but « 50% or more of their directors, trustees, or like officials are not at arm’s length; and more than 50% of their funding comes from a person or group of persons that controls the charity in some way » (Canada Revenue Agency). The majority of family foundations such as the Lucie and André Chagnon Foundation and The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation falls into this category.

Whether they support patients and their families psychologically or morally, advocate for their rights, fund research and healthcare infrastructure or support innovative initiatives at the local level, philanthropic organizations contribute significantly to the healthcare system. Yet, we know little about their role, their concrete contribution, their governance and processes.

In this new dossier, our collaborators take a closer look at public and private foundations and examine the way they affect the development of health innovations.

In this dossier

Sylvain Lefèvre — Professor in the Department of strategies, social and environmental responsibility at UQAM — takes stock of philanthropic practices in Quebec.
Catherine Rowe — Executive Vice-president, Development at Sainte-Justine UHC Foundation — explains the role of this public foundation in the development of medical innovations.
Linsey McGoey — lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of Essex in the UK — clarifies the concept of "philanthrocapitalism" and explains how the largest private foundation in the world, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is reshaping the field of global health.
John Cawley — Director of Programs and Operations at the McConnell Foundation — discusses the role of this private foundation in the development and implementation of social innovations in Canada.
Chris MacDonald — Director of the Jim Pattison Ethical Leadership Program at Ryerson University — explains why corporate philanthropy makes many of us uncomfortable.

Also relevant to this dossier

Geneviève Daudelin’s entry À propos de l’industrie du ruban rose : réflexions sur l’usage commercial de la maladie, la solidarité et la recherche.

Author :

Myriam Hivon, Ph.D.
Hinnovic.org

REFERENCES

Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (2012). Les dons caritatifs excèdent finalement les niveaux d’avant la récession; les hôpitaux canadiens ont amassé plus de 1,35 milliard $ l’an dernier. 3 octobre 2012.
Fontan J-M., Lévesque B., Charbonneau M. (2011). Les fondations privées québécoises : un champ de recherche émergent. Lien social et Politiques, 65 : 43-64.

Le rôle de la philanthropie en santé – une entrevue avec Sylvain Lefèvre

mhivon — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 10:00:06 +0000

La philanthropie est un domaine peu étudié. Pourtant, selon Sylvain Lefèvre, « elle a une importance sociale, politique et économique qui mérite que l’on s’y intéresse ». Dans cette entrevue, ce professeur au département de stratégie, responsabilité sociale et environnementale de l’UQAM explique pourquoi on doit se mêler de philanthropie et où se trouve le potentiel des organisations caritatives dans le domaine de la santé.

more…

Changing the rules of the game – an interview with John Cawley

mhivon — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 09:00:17 +0000

Supporting and encouraging social innovations are at the heart of the J.W. McConnell Foundation’s mission. In order to this, this Foundation – one of the largest in Canada – has developed a vision and a philosophy of its own that are exposed here by John Cawley, the Foundation’s Director of Programs and Operations. In this inspiring interview, John Cawley explains how the Foundation is more interested in changing the rules of the game than in winning the game.

more…

Philanthrocapitalism, the Gates Foundation and global health – an interview with Linsey McGoey

mhivon — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 08:00:59 +0000

Dr Linsey McGoey is a lecturer in the Department of Sociology, University of Essex. In this interview, she clarifies the concept of philanthrocapitalism and discusses how the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is reshaping the field of global health.

more…

Providing access to cutting edge innovations and research – an interview with Catherine Rowe

mhivon — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 07:00:30 +0000

Did you know that the Sainte-Justine Hospital, based in Montreal, was founded thanks to philanthropic efforts? Today, this university hospital center is internationally renowned for the quality of healthcare it provides to children and the cutting edge research that takes place within its premises. Part of these research efforts and access to cutting edge innovations are made possible by the Sainte-Justine UHC Foundation. In this interview, we have asked Catherine Rowe, the Executive Vice-President, Development of the Foundation, to clarify the role of this philanthropic organisation in the development of health innovations.

more…

Why are we uncomfortable with corporate philanthropy in health?

mhivon — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 06:00:12 +0000

Corporate philanthropy in the realm of health is a persistent double-edged sword. In fact, if swords could have more than two edges the metaphor would be even more apt. Or maybe there are two double-edged swords, here: the double-edged sword of the charity’s request, and the double-edged sword of the corporate donation. Everyone likes corporate philanthropy, but clearly no one is fully comfortable with it.

more…

End-users in e-health design: it’s do or die, but how?

mhivon — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 06:00:31 +0000

From our "Clever solutions for health" series

Still interested in finding clever and socially relevant solutions for health? We invite you to listen to Sampsa Hyysalo’s talk presented at the TEDxMontrealQuartierLatin, an event hosted by the Hinnovic team on October 1st, 2010. Sampsa shares six lessons he learned through his research on the contribution end-users bring to the design of health technology and explains how they generate creative ideas that companies sometimes fail to recognize.

more…

L’accompagnement pour diminuer le recours aux interventions obstétricales

mhivon — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 06:00:11 +0000

Alors que, dans des domaines aussi complexes et délicats que la chirurgie cardiaque, le développement technologique a souvent conduit à des interventions de moins en moins invasives, en obstétrique, il a souvent eu l’effet contraire. Analgésie péridurale, surveillance fœtale, déclenchement et accélération du travail et césarienne sont autant d’interventions qui envahissent le corps des femmes, venant dicter le rythme, le déroulement, la norme d’un accouchement.

more…

Involving users in the design of medical technology, pros and cons

mhivon — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 13:00:14 +0000

If you had been consulted in the design of the hospital gown, would you have suggested that it ties to the back, often revealing more than one would like? While embarrassing for patients, the hospital gown accommodates well the work of health professionals. Two categories of users, yet two different perspectives on its design.

Are these views reconcilable? Is it always possible or even desirable to involve users in the design of medical technology?

These questions have prompted lively discussions at a workshop organized by the Hinnovic team in June 2012. The workshop brought together medical device designers, technology transfer experts, clinicians and representatives of organizations whose mission is to support patients who are in frequent contact with technology. If everyone agreed on the relevance and desirability of involving users in the design of medical technology, they nevertheless highlighted several limitations and obstacles.

Which users should be involved in the development process? When and how should they be consulted? What role should they play? What sort of challenges do users and designers face in their attempts to collaborate?

Hinnovic’s collaborators provide some answers that, we hope, can foster the debate.

In this dossier

Olivier Demers-Payette, Ph.D. Candidate in public health at the University of Montreal, examines the changing role of users in the development of radiology.
Marc Wysocki, physician and Medical Director at GE Healthcare, shares his experience as a designer of medical devices.
Philippe Jouvet, Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the CHU Sainte-Justine, discusses the development of computerized protocols for mechanical ventilation from a user’s perspective.
Hinnovic presents the results of a British study on the beliefs and attitudes of medical device manufacturers towards user involvement in the design of health technologies.
Jorge Silva, from the Inclusive Design Research Centre at OCAD University, argues that by adopting alternative business models such as open source systems, users of assistive devices are revolutionizing design and production processes.

Also relevant to this dossier

Dahlia Kairy’s text, Strategies for meaningfully involving users in the development of an intelligent power wheelchair.
Our video, Construire, assembler, adapter : trois façons de concevoir une technologie médicale.
Jorge Silva’s text, Moving beyond market dysfunctions, on the necessity to rethink the commercialization of assistive devices.
Jess Mitchel’s text, Inclusive design in information technologies, which describes how to increase the usability of web applications.

Author :

Myriam Hivon, Ph.D.
Hinnovic.org

Utilisateurs + concepteurs = meilleure innovation?

mhivon — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 12:00:59 +0000

Une petite histoire de la radiologie

À la fin du 19e siècle, le physicien Wilhelm Röntgen s’intéresse aux rayons cathodiques. Il découvre accidentellement que certaines formes de rayonnement traversent la paroi du tube cathodique et peuvent être détectées. Röntgen publie en 1895 un article sur sa découverte traitant notamment du pouvoir de pénétration du « rayon X ».

more…

L’utilisateur incontournable – entrevue avec Philippe Jouvet

mhivon — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 11:00:20 +0000

Quand la conception d’une technologie requiert l’intégration de connaissances médicales, il est difficile d’ignorer ceux qui les possèdent, les cliniciens. Dans cette entrevue, Philippe Jouvet, professeur au département de pédiatrie du CHU Sainte-Justine, va au-delà du rôle ponctuel que joue le clinicien dans le développement d’un système d’assistance respiratoire informatisé. Il réfléchit aux façons de standardiser la connaissance médicale de façon à ce que l’industrie puisse offrir des produits diversifiés qui s’adapteront à des organisations de soins variées.

more…