Prompt:
While trying to develop a low-cost syringe for
the developing world context, you (the
designer) hit a cross-roads. Constructing the
syringe to auto-disable after a single use, an
important safety feature, significantly adds to
the cost of the design – making it potentially
unaffordable for some hospitals and clinics.
However, if you don’t add the safety feature,
you are enabling the potential for the spread of
disease. How do you as a designer proceed?
Response:
All relevant facts: The project is based in a developing nation making the cost a crucial aspect. The designer is debating the pros and cons of adding or not adding a costly safety featureĀ to the syringe design. If it is added it can become too expensive, if it is not added then people maybe at risk.
Potential ethical issues: This project is meant to be low cost, however jeopardizing the lives of people to make things low cost is an ethical issue. The flip side is making the syringe more expensive than expected can also take a toll on the hospitals they are being made for since they may have no other choice but to buy those syringes. Valuing the worth of others lives compared to the cost of an item comes to play here. In some cultures people have more of the mentality that people need to fend for themselves vs. the mentality of thinking people should uplift their communities together. To some people it maybe okay to simply inform the patients that they maybe at higher risk of a disease and not increase the cost. While others may believe that no patient should have to choose to be at risk of a disease when they are trying to cure another issue even at a higher expense. The rights of individuals are also questioned because not everyone may understand the risk they are being put under if the syringe does not have the safety feature.
Stakeholders and their objectives: There are several stakeholders. The patients care that they are being well taken care of and helping their health not the latter. As for doctors and nurses they want to make sure they have something that easy to use while still being able to preform their job to the best of their abilities. Another stakeholder is the hospitals themselves/ those purchasing the syringes they are going to be looking for the most effective syringe at the lowest price since developing world hospitals are usually under-resourced. Lastly there is a potential for are insurance companies to be stakeholders depending on the way this particular nation runs their health care. If the insurance companies have more say they may want to decrease risk just as much as they want to decrease cost.
Potential Solutions: There are the black and white solutions where either the designer does not include the safety feature and the doctors and nurses would be held responsible to properly dispose of them. The other side is they do add the safety feature and it comes more expensive so the hospital would have to find various ways to either fund or limit the syringes. If the safety feature stays another potential solution is have an option that becomes cheaper when the hospital buys the syringes in bulk. This may be unrealistic for a developing nation hospital as they may only be able to give small quantities of money towards a certain item at a time. Another option is making a payment plan to allow hospitals to pay for the syringes at their own pace. On a similar scale, there is the option of letting hospitals pay what they can, ultimately letting more wealthy hospitals pay more for them while the the less wealthy pay less. There are certainly cons to both these solutions in terms of sustainability of the method. Going back to not using the expensive option, as a designer finding a cheaper version of the safety feature seem ideal. If it has the same function, is easily used, and protects the patients while allowing the hospitals to keep them low cost it can be a ideal solution. What makes the syringe more expensive is the auto disposable mechanism, which typically means that it locks the syringe making it incapable of being used a second time. However, there is an option that doesn’t lock the syringe but does change color once used which is cheaper.
Chosen solution: The safety of people and decreasing risk is my top priority, however I recognized that putting a strain on the hospital to purchase syringes can be just as damaging as having some that do not have the safety feature. With these values in mind as a designer I would choose the option of a cheaper safety feature. It provides the best of both worlds. if it were implemented in the hospitals, hospitals would need to assure that doctors and nurses double check to see if the color has changed so that they do not reuse a syringe. If for some reason this option was not applicable, my second choice would be to apply for funding as a hospital to be able to purchase the more expensive option of the syringes.