Self-assessment of a Problem-solving Educational Program by Collaboration of Medicine and Design in Japanese University

Abstract

Although design education for medical students, staffs, and patients has been reported in the world, programs linking the two academic fields are limited, and their effectiveness is unknown. We have implemented a problem-solving educational program in collaboration with Faculty of Design, Faculty of Medicine, and Hospital in Kyushu University since 2021. In this study, self-assessment was used to determine the impact of this educational program on the creativity of participants in the design area. A total of 654 issues were identified from four medical fields, 486 ideas were created, and 13 prototypes were presented. There was significant improvement in "career-related expectations (P=.04)" and in "wanting to create something new and innovative (P=.05)", but overall scores in the categories of motivation, skills, and career expectations did not change from the high scores before the lecture (3.6-4.6/5 to 4.0-4.6/5). The need to revise the assessment items was suggested.