Gareth Loudon

I am currently running a research networking project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, to try and help improve the health and well-being of people living in rural communities in India through the establishment of a multidisciplinary international collaboration and the application of user-led design research methods such as ‘design thinking’.

Key collaborators in the project are the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering at Amrita School of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore, India; Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Kochi, India; Amrita Kripa Charitable Hospital, Wayanad, India; the Centre for eHealth and Care Technology at the University of Agder, Norway; and the Cardiff School of Art and Design at Cardiff Metropolitan University.

I gave a talk in June on “Applying User-Led Design Methods for Improving Healthcare in Developing Countries” at the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) engagement event, hosted by the British Academy and Research Councils UK at the British Academy in London.

I am currently involved in a seven month project to develop a production ready version of the Trauma Pack to meet the needs of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The aim is to make the Trauma Pack available for deployment in large-scale humanitarian emergencies. The work is supported by the Wales Life Sciences Bridging Fund.

I spent a few days at the University of Agder in October together with the research team at the Centre for eHealth and Care Technologies discussing usability research and user centred design challenges and opportunities in the context of eHealth.