The focus of lecture this week was using an empathetic approach to identify and solve problems in healthcare. By thinking of the individual feelings and experiences of people in the public health system, engineers and public health officials can better identify how to improve the system. In order to understand issues in public health, many engineers will do background research or conduct interviews; however, full immersion into the public health system is the best option. Full immersion could mean actually being a clinician or patient or it could mean shadowing at a clinic for a day and seeing problem arise firsthand. Shadowing gives a person a unique perspective that clinicians and patients do not have. Engineers that shadow for a day are removed from the situation and can identify problems of which the clinician or patient may not have even been aware.

I think that full immersion and empathetic thinking are important steps to improving public health across the globe. Many times public health officials in developed countries are trying to solve issues in underdeveloped countries; however, the officials lack a true understanding of the conditions in the underdeveloped countries. With empathetic thinking this could change. When I rewatched the videos and thought of myself in one of the clinics or imagined a specific person being treated, I was better able to identify needs. For example, I had not really considered the fact that the ER in Uganda only had curtains and screens as privacy. However, when I considered myself going to the ER and having to share my medical history and whatever problems I was currently having within earshot of other people in the ER, I realized that privacy could be an issue.