Health care and the health sciences have become dynamic environments for innovation, especially as advances in digital technology have increased personal autonomy and disrupted the conventional doctor-patient relationship. The digital revolution has unlocked the potential to guide wellness in highly personalized ways, while also boosting big data that can inform population health and point us toward answers to global grand challenges. At the same time, the need to eliminate health disparities will mean taking stock of legacy systems — across the spectrum of clinical research and care — to identify opportunities to meet the needs of historically underserved people.

Even more imperatives call for diverse thinkers to join design efforts, including the need to control costs, expand access, eliminate medical error, make services more efficient and increase satisfaction among consumers and providers of care. In the background of those imperatives is a changing environment here on Earth, as well as the possibility of human activity in new environments as we enter a new Space Age. A changing landscape demands prevention and care that adapt rapidly to new needs.

Health Sciences Design engages undergraduate, graduate and professional students from all disciplines in the development of solutions that can make wellness more effective, equitable, and empowering — and prepared for tomorrow. HSD courses prepare students though human-centered, service-learning opportunities, participatory action research, and technical training in design methods and technology.