Original challenge: How might we improve the lives of patients with diabetes and empower them to take better care of themselves?
Challenge from: Centrum för Diabetes, Region Stockholm
Redefined challenge: How might we empower healthcare providers and patients with better insights about personal needs, for them to better manage diabetes?
Solution: VivaLu
Concept: In essence, VivaLu offers: personalized information instead of generalized instruction, immediate insight instead of delayed understanding, and emotional and social support instead of isolated responsibility. It is a care model that adapts to real life, not the other way around. It guides the patient through a reflective process, building not only knowledge but also agency, motivation, and emotional resilience.
Team: Diabeatles

Dana Aldoescu, Ludvig Dovberg, Paul Kweyu, Patrick Mamsery, Therese Landegren, Tintin Piri.

Report abstract

In partnership with the Stockholm Diabetes Centrum, a specialist clinic focused on care for adults with diabetes, our interdisciplinary OpenLab student team explored innovative approaches to addressing the challenges associated with type 2 diabetes management in Stockholm. Lifestyle-related health issues in the Swedish capital continue to rise at an exponential rate. Currently Diabetes Centrum is facing a challenge where their type 2 patients are not attending the diabetes school offered by the Center which is supposed to help them improve their lifestyle.

In this report we showcase our use of design thinking methodologies to develop a comprehensive understanding of patient and healthcare worker experiences. This was done through creating personas and conducting investigations. This resulted in five innovative concepts/ideas aimed at empowering patients and healthcare workers with better insights. Our concepts range from diabetes knowledge questionnaires to community driven support platforms, with the overall goal of transforming diabetes care from a generalised approach to a more personalised patient experience. This would in turn assist with the challenge of managing their health. The final concept, VivaLu, is a person-centered care journey that integrates a diabetes knowledge evaluation as well as interactive patient meetings with continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) for a limited period of time to provide tailored education and real-time feedback.