Mapping THE SYSTEM:
Social PrescribinG
This gigamap, a collection of system maps, uses a “game of chance" analogy to depict the system that health-seekers must navigate for care.
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Design for Health: Systems 2 (OCADu)
TEAM
graphic design, system mapping, research
ROLE
Health design, gamification, systems analysis
type
Challenge
Social Prescribing is a healthcare approach that advocates for addressing upstream health factors now, in order to prevent downstream health challenges later. It’s an underutilized approach to healthcare that sees the value of non-medical interventions and strengthening social supports.
Social Prescribing’s particular holistic approach and its focus on chronic health challenges rather than acute care mean that it’s often quickly dismissed by skeptics. Even to interested parties, it can be difficult to summarily illustrate Social Prescribing’s benefits and applications… even just due to the the sheer number of intersecting vectors of health.
SOLUTION
A metaphor-forward systems map depicting the practice of social prescribing and its existence within the health system. It illustrates social prescribing’s context, use, and benefits with multiple system maps. Meant to engage health and allied health professionals (and interested lay persons).
Why a board game? Aside from viewers’ pre-existing familiarity with game visuals… luck/chance, stat changes, and the persona journey make up an engaging analogy that can explain a) issues and frustrations with the current health system, b) protective factors and social supports, c) the benefits of social prescribing.
A gigamap of this scale is meant to be printed and hung on a wall, so an optimal viewing experience is difficult to achieve on a website… let alone a website in mobile view (😱). The button to the lower right will open up a new window with a bigger image for you to peruse at your leisure.
The boardgame visuals are also meant to evoke a sense of chance and randomness. It represents how no two health journeys will be the same across personas or playthroughs, as well as how unpredictable health can be.
The persona card decks are essentially user personas who have different advantages and disadvantages impacting their movement across the board. The snakes and ladders board represents the setbacks and improvements in a health journey (from factors ranging from physical health condition, to bureaucracy, to even just time spent waiting). Other card decks and items around the board showcase more maps and facets of the healthcare system and Social Prescribing.
process
ResearcH
BACKGROUND
A literature review helped to inform us to gather statistics and details on social prescribing, which we could then apply in filling out the Systemic Design Toolkit maps.
Systemic design toolkit
Using the Systemic Design Toolkit as part of this assignment, we explored different facets of social prescribing and the healthcare system. Not all map tools made it into the gigamap, but the process of many iterations helped us choose the most pertinent to include.
GRAPHIC DESIGN DeVELOPMENT
Concept and visual layout
The idea to layout the gigamap like a boardgame derives from the Iterative Inquiry system framing map when we noticed that setbacks and improvements of a health journey are reminiscent of snakes-and-ladders.
I chose a top-down view of a game in progress, suggesting the ongoing nature of a health journey. Additionally, the title is a satirical take on The Game of Life, noting how many non-medical aspects of life factor into our health.
The boardgame layout is therefore an easily accessible metaphor that conveys the relatable frustration of being a health-seeker in our convoluted healthcare system.
Graphic design
I used a semi-realistic visual style to create consistency between the system maps and their environment. There’s a kind of non-direct skeumorphism at play, since the gigamap is not interactive, but the maps within have the clear suggestion that they are game elements, and then there’s even the added layer of metaphor.
END NOTES
Is this an actually playable game? While the map itself is not, we did develop a playable game based on it in partnership with a local nonprofit.
I learned a lot about using Adobe Illustrator in the making of this project.