Category: Design and innovation

Making a complex intervention feel simple: tailored text messages to help people take their statins

Taking a medicine every day might seem straightforward, but for many people it is anything but. In this blog, Javiera Rosenberg shares how her PhD research explored why patients stop taking statins and how those insights led her to develop a tailored text messaging intervention to support adherence.

Javiera Rosenberg is a PhD researcher at the NIHR Patient Safety Research Collaboration: North West London, based at the Institute of Global Health Innovation. In her own words, she reflects on the behavioural science, patient co-design and digital innovation behind the intervention.

A GP is running an NHS Health Check.

Turning lived experience into innovation: How Tamara Tortosa is building Qalyup

After taking part in WE Innovate at Imperial, Tamara Tortosa reflects on how her personal experience of seeking treatment abroad led to the creation of Qalyup – a startup focused on improving access to safer healthcare.

Tamara Tortosa is a nurse and alumna of the Institute of Global Health Innovation‘s MSc in Health Policy at Imperial College London. Her journey into entrepreneurship has been shaped by the intersection of lived experience, healthcare and academia. It was further shaped through her participation in WE Innovate, a pre-accelerator programme for women in innovation at the Imperial Enterprise Lab.

In her own words, Tamara reflects on the experience that led her to launch Qalyup.

Understanding antimicrobial resistance: from measurement to better decision-making

A resident doctor reviews a patient late in the day. The presence of an infection is uncertain. The guidelines are long and complex, and time is limited. The consultant wants a decision. The patient is expecting treatment.

Does the doctor prescribe antibiotics or not?

This is the reality of antimicrobial prescribing in hospitals. Decisions are often made under pressure, shaped not only by clinical evidence but by time constraints, hierarchy and patient expectations. These decisions matter. Every unnecessary or inappropriate prescription contributes, in small but cumulative ways, to a much larger global challenge: antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

AMR occurs when microbes such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites no longer respond to the drugs used to treat them.

Designing healthcare for people and planet

This blog was co-authored by Helix Centre designers Sophie Horrocks and Tori Simpson.  

What if every act of care also cared for the planet?

From care pathways to medical products, healthcare can (and must) be designed to minimise waste, reduce emissions, and protect planetary health. This is not a distant vision, but an urgent necessity. As the world’s leading designers gather for the World Design Congress themed Design for Planet, here at the Helix Centre, we are exploring what it will take to make this ambition a reality, and the role human-centred design in healthcare can play in achieving it.

Celebrating Women at IGHI: Driving Meaningful Change in Global Health

On International Women’s Day, we shine a spotlight on the incredible women at the Institute of Global Health Innovation (IGHI) who are shaping the future of healthcare worldwide. From pioneering research to innovative policy work, these leaders are tackling some of the most pressing global health challenges —making a real difference in in the UK and beyond.

In this blog, we celebrate their achievements and highlight how their expertise and dedication continue to inspire change. Read on to learn about some of these fantastic women at the IGHI and discover key examples of their work.

Professor Bryony Dean Franklin – Visiting Professor at IGHI

Professor Bryony Dean Franklin is visiting Professor in the Department of Surgery and Cancer at the Centre for Prevention and Management at Imperial College.

New cohort of Digital health leaders share their enthusiasm to drive digital transformation in the NHS

Last week, over 100 students from the most recent Cohort of the Digital Health Leadership Programme (DHLP) came together for the first time to kick off their learning journey.

The two-day Forum in York gave students the opportunity to learn about expectations for the year, meet the academic team, and network with peers. Day 1 included talks and interactive sessions on individual strengths, while Day 2 focused on the collective, with participants engaging with their peer support groups. 

Commissioned by the NHS Digital Academy at NHS England, the DHLP empowers health and care leaders to drive digital transformation in the NHS.

Innovative children’s hospice opens in Italy with support from IGHI

“Arca sull’albero”, a new children’s hospice in Bologna, Italy, was inaugurated last week, marking a significant milestone in children’s palliative care. The hospice, funded by Fondazione Hospice Maria Teresa Chiantore Seràgnoli, is a testament to innovative, user-centred design and care. Researchers and designers from the Institute of Global Health Innovation (IGHI) and its Helix Centre played a pivotal role in its development, ensuring the incorporation of lessons from international best practices and of user-centred innovation.

Access to children’s palliative care is a human right. According to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, “children are entitled to quality health services, including prevention, promotion, treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care services.’’

Julia Anderson Careers Event 2024: Inspiring sixth formers with career insights and opportunities to transform global health

In February we hosted the Julia Anderson Training Programme (JATP) Careers Event 2024 at Institute of Global Health Innovation (IGHI), a fantastic evening for sixth form students to learn more about our Julia Anderson programme and the IGHI, and get inspired for their future careers. 

Sixth formers from different London state-funded schools travelled to The Invention Rooms, at Imperial College London’s White City Campus, to participate in the event. They got the chance to learn more about the opportunities at IGHI, hear some of our staff members’ career journeys, as well as interact with some of the fantastic workstreams we work on to improve people’s health.

Design Dash: Accelerating innovation in NHS screening programmes

On your marks, get set… Our MSc Healthcare and Design students take part in a Design Dash, a rapid design process to solve a real-world healthcare challenge. We spoke to two students, Aoife McGrath and Jasmine Banerjee, about the process.

A design dash is a rapid, collaborative method for conceiving tangible healthcare innovations. Our Helix Centre teaches and assesses the Design Dash module on the MSc Healthcare and Design course that is aimed at healthcare professionals and designers and co-run by Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art. The students work with Helix Centre’s researchers, designers and public engagement experts on a live rapid design project to prototype a solution to an identified challenge.

Keeping OnTrack with stroke rehabilitation

The Helix Centre, part of the Institute of Global Health Innovation, is helping stroke patients to manage their recovery and increase their independence, with a wearable tool that provides support for the rehabilitation of their arm and hand.

OnTrack Rehab is a platform that combines tracking of arm movements through a smart watch with personalised virtual coaching and dedicated clinical support. The system allows stroke patients to convert every-day activities into productive rehabilitation, and stroke therapists to monitor and help guide the patients’ progress. The development of the platform has been led by a multidisciplinary team at Helix including Gianpaolo Fusari (Project Lead) and Clare McCrudden (Engagement Lead).