Graduation Year
2021
Date of Submission
5-2021
Document Type
Campus Only Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Reader 1
Albert Park
Reader 2
Fred Leichter
Abstract
As a college student studying Human-Centered Design (HCD), my goal for the culmination of my education was to have an impact in an area that was human, complex, and emotion filled. This project explored the need for healthcare professionals, specifically physicians and nurses working in neuro-oncology, to acknowledge their natural human grief in the face of patient death. In partnership with the UCSF Honor Project, my partner and I employed Human-Centered Design to establish practices and spaces for these communities to process their grief.
At the foundation of our work was the deeply dedicated medical professional who needs relief from the weight of witnessing so many patients pass. Preventing this were barriers of medical stigma around objectivity and emotion, time crunches, and a belief that one is either ‘built for the job’ or not. Through our research and ideation we created an informative video and implementation materials to convince neuro-oncology departments outside of UCSF to attempt the Honor Project and take seriously the benefits of a structured space for shared grief. Our materials were met with great support and the Honor Project was tested by several departments across the country.
Recommended Citation
Zimmerman-Smith, Anya, "Caring for Caregivers: Exploring Neuro-oncology Relationships and Spreading Collaborative Grief Support Using Human-Centered Design" (2021). CMC Senior Theses. 2632.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/2632
This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.
