Design for healthcare. SAFEGRAM: un letto sicuro con approccio human-centred

The research aims to underline the design’s possibility in contemporary care, investigating a complex system thanks to an inclusive and Human-Centred approach to give rise to bottom-up innovation processes in healthcare. Safegram is a health device safety and adaptable for frail persons housed at the Istituto Serafico of Assisi. The design process shifts the more traditional design horizon toward designing complex scenarios, aiming for social and environmental transformation. The theme of sustainability is interpreted in its broadest sense with an interdisciplinary approach, tying together different areas, the social, the medical, the economic, held together by Human-Centred Design. The starting point is represented by the complexity of expressed and unexpressed needs that an institution such as the Istituto Serafico, taking care of children and young people with severe multiple disabilities, is called to manage, especially in the moments that concern the safe rest of the children in protected spaces. Therefore, the project aims to promote the well-being of the person with special needs, of the caregivers and relatives who take care of them, with specific reference to the living spaces, based on the principles of inclusive design. Moreover, the design mission is to meet the needs of as many individuals as possible in their specificities, starting from consciously analyzing human needs and aspirations, and building a product that is not ghettoising, but welcoming. Along with functionality, practicality and ergonomics, the defining value of the project was aesthetic research. Although born from the needs of the Istituto Serafico, the designed safe bed aims to be able to be spread in traditional domestic contexts as well. The design process was characterized by co-design activities in which designers, patients, caregivers experienced the opportunities offered by Human-Centered Design. More specifically, the project was divided into the following interdependent phases: 1. discussion to identify strengths and needs of the Istituto Serafico, 2. discussion with the caregivers and users' family members, 3. bibliographic research and comparative analysis of case studies, 4. identification of design objectives and concept ideation, 5. development and definition of the project. The outcomes are not meant to be exhaustive, but their educational value lies precisely in understanding the virtuous action that this approach promotes in the social sphere, now more than ever in need of special cultural attention.