Communicating the Voice of Ethnic Chinese Women with Gestational Diabetes in Australia – A Service Design Approach

In Australia, Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) affects 17.9% of births, with ethnic Chinese women at a five times higher risk compared to Australian-born women. They face cultural and linguistic barriers, and current GDM services lack cultural considerations for Chinese dietary and exercise practices. Healthcare professionals often misunderstand these cultural nuances. Ethnic Chinese women with GDM are 2-3 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes later, but tailored post-pregnancy support is limited. The complex care required also incurs significantly higher healthcare costs, emphasising the need for culturally adapted and effective communication strategies to improve health outcomes.

The research addresses GDM management challenges for ethnic Chinese women in Australia through experience mapping. It presents a culturally appropriate intervention framework, improving care quality with high-fidelity prototypes and maps illustrating experiences and gaps. Experience maps highlight diet, exercise, and glucose monitoring, visualising women’s perspectives. An example persona, Emily Ma, emphasises the need for culturally relevant healthcare advice. The study reviewed 61 sources, creating practical artifacts and a service design-led healthcare framework. These solutions bridge interdisciplinary knowledge gaps and engage healthcare professionals, including diabetes educators, to enhance GDM self-management.

The research uses service design methods to create more holistic outcomes than traditional healthcare research. It systematically, holistically, and visually presents GDM experiences, offering culturally appropriate communications to healthcare providers and decision-makers. The artefacts were showcased at the Australasian Diabetes Congress 2023, winning the New Poster Award among 178 entries. This promoted design as a communication, facilitation, and knowledge-sharing method, bridging gaps as most healthcare professionals lack time to understand other cultures. The presentation attracted interest from those working with other culturally and linguistically diverse groups, highlighting designers’ contributions and impact in healthcare and raising awareness of their essential role.

The research extensively reviews secondary materials, including peer-reviewed journals, official reports, and diabetes management guidelines, maximising the reliability and breadth of information. This approach facilitated the quick development of design artefacts within existing works, such as personas and experience maps. The artefacts illustrate the GDM experiences of first-generation Chinese women in Australia, highlighting diet, exercise, and glucose monitoring. While secondary data may introduce subjective bias and lack the specificity of primary data, combining both provides more profound insights. The study yielded practical artefacts and a service design-led healthcare framework, bridging knowledge gaps and enhancing GDM self-management.