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ME 599 – Design for Global Health: Medical device usability testing and iterative design
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Addressing global health challenges through clinical immersion and design
2020 Global Health Design Academic Program Applications Now Open!
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Design for Global Health Academic Program
- At a glance
- 1500Identified needs
- 400Student designers
- 7Field sites
What We've Done
~120 design projects
~150 student clinical immersions
Featured Opportunities More Opportunities →
Understanding the subtle cultural difficulties in the setting of intended use is close to impossible without the full immersion into that setting. Without knowing the true difficulties and how they are managed, other teams who we have had contact with have difficulty meeting the demands of their end users. Other student design teams struggle to fully understand the user requirements and find it hard to achieve them with a completed prototype based off literature before initiating contact with the end user.
Why Participate in the Global Health Design Initiative (GHDI)? Learn More →
Gain valuable professional design skills
Industry looks for prospective employees who have not only mastered skills in the classroom but successfully applied these skills in the field
Engage first-hand in design project in an intercultural setting
Students work directly with stakeholders at international field sites and in Ann Arbor to design and prototype solutions to identified health challenges.
Make an impact
GHDI works collaboratively with partners at UM and at international field sites to define and develop medical device designs appropriate for use in low-resource settings
Pictured
2017 Design for Global Health Students in Flint
This year's team included:
The first student interns and academic program students at the Hamilton Flint partner hospital.
Recent Updates
2020 Design for Global Health Design Academic Program Applications Now Open!
GHDI is now accepting applications from rising juniors and seniors for the 2020 Design for Global Health Academic Program. The priority application deadline is December 4, 2019. For more information and to apply, visit this link.
GHDI Welcomes 2018 Cohort
This summer, GHDI will have four academic program participants and nine interns working on global health design projects. Academic program participants will be completing an 8-week clinical immersion experience in either Accra, Ghana or Kumasi, Ghana. Interns will be completing 10-12 week internships in Ann Arbor, Michigan and either Kumasi, Ghana, Accra, Ghana, Flint, Michigan, or Kampala, Uganda. Student project themes include obstetrics and gynecology, family planning, emergency medicine/trauma, physical therapy, and patient communication and information sharing systems.