Design thinking in cancer care: A systematic literature review
Objective Cancer can have a profound impact on the life of the patient, presenting challenges such as dealing with complex healthcare models and psychological burden. Implementing design thinking (DT) in cancer care can improve the quality of life for patients. Although DT has been used in healthcar...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Digital Health |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076241313279 |
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| _version_ | 1850270254323728384 |
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| author | Muhammad Mohsin Memon Noel Carroll Katie Crowley |
| author_facet | Muhammad Mohsin Memon Noel Carroll Katie Crowley |
| author_sort | Muhammad Mohsin Memon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective Cancer can have a profound impact on the life of the patient, presenting challenges such as dealing with complex healthcare models and psychological burden. Implementing design thinking (DT) in cancer care can improve the quality of life for patients. Although DT has been used in healthcare, there is limited research highlighting use of DT in cancer care. The objective of this review is to explore the applications of DT within a cancer care context. Methods We systematically searched databases (PubMed Central, Scopus, and Medline) for relevant papers published between January 2018 and March 2023. Articles were identified using keywords: 'cancer', 'cancer care', 'oncology', 'design thinking', and 'design science'. Studies meeting our inclusion criteria were included and data was collected on the focus of study (i.e., design thinking and cancer care), target condition, target intervention and objective of the study. Thematic analysis was performed to identify recurring themes across studies. Articles were evaluated by the lead author and cross verified by the other two authors to reduce the risk of bias. Results Twenty studies were included out of the 160 articles identified whereby 11 focus on cancer care (5 patient-facing, 5 community-facing, and 1 provider-facing studies) and 9 on design thinking (5 patient-facing, 1 community-facing, and 3 provider-facing studies). Overall, seven themes were identified with several subthemes. Conclusions Our findings indicate that design thinking has been successfully applied to improve patient experiences in cancer care. By involving various stakeholders, including patients, healthcare providers, and communities, design thinking helps better understand real world problems. However, there is a gap in design thinking research concerning the long-term evaluation and scalability of design thinking-based interventions. Additionally, our findings suggest that mixed methods approach for future studies would support to establish more empirical evidence in this domain. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-341f9bf635e447558f321faf55a98a2c |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2055-2076 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Digital Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-341f9bf635e447558f321faf55a98a2c2025-08-20T01:52:42ZengSAGE PublishingDigital Health2055-20762025-05-011110.1177/20552076241313279Design thinking in cancer care: A systematic literature reviewMuhammad Mohsin Memon0Noel Carroll1Katie Crowley2 , Galway, Ireland , Galway, Ireland , Limerick, IrelandObjective Cancer can have a profound impact on the life of the patient, presenting challenges such as dealing with complex healthcare models and psychological burden. Implementing design thinking (DT) in cancer care can improve the quality of life for patients. Although DT has been used in healthcare, there is limited research highlighting use of DT in cancer care. The objective of this review is to explore the applications of DT within a cancer care context. Methods We systematically searched databases (PubMed Central, Scopus, and Medline) for relevant papers published between January 2018 and March 2023. Articles were identified using keywords: 'cancer', 'cancer care', 'oncology', 'design thinking', and 'design science'. Studies meeting our inclusion criteria were included and data was collected on the focus of study (i.e., design thinking and cancer care), target condition, target intervention and objective of the study. Thematic analysis was performed to identify recurring themes across studies. Articles were evaluated by the lead author and cross verified by the other two authors to reduce the risk of bias. Results Twenty studies were included out of the 160 articles identified whereby 11 focus on cancer care (5 patient-facing, 5 community-facing, and 1 provider-facing studies) and 9 on design thinking (5 patient-facing, 1 community-facing, and 3 provider-facing studies). Overall, seven themes were identified with several subthemes. Conclusions Our findings indicate that design thinking has been successfully applied to improve patient experiences in cancer care. By involving various stakeholders, including patients, healthcare providers, and communities, design thinking helps better understand real world problems. However, there is a gap in design thinking research concerning the long-term evaluation and scalability of design thinking-based interventions. Additionally, our findings suggest that mixed methods approach for future studies would support to establish more empirical evidence in this domain.https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076241313279 |
| spellingShingle | Muhammad Mohsin Memon Noel Carroll Katie Crowley Design thinking in cancer care: A systematic literature review Digital Health |
| title | Design thinking in cancer care: A systematic literature review |
| title_full | Design thinking in cancer care: A systematic literature review |
| title_fullStr | Design thinking in cancer care: A systematic literature review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Design thinking in cancer care: A systematic literature review |
| title_short | Design thinking in cancer care: A systematic literature review |
| title_sort | design thinking in cancer care a systematic literature review |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076241313279 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT muhammadmohsinmemon designthinkingincancercareasystematicliteraturereview AT noelcarroll designthinkingincancercareasystematicliteraturereview AT katiecrowley designthinkingincancercareasystematicliteraturereview |