Abstract
Background: Rapid changes in healthcare education demand innovative strategies that transcend disciplinary boundaries. Traditional nursing curricula often provide limited opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration, which restricts students’ problem-solving and creative competencies. This project applied the Design Thinking (DT) framework as an innovative pedagogical model to foster collaboration among nurses and other healthcare professionals. The purpose was to enhance collaborative learning, creativity, empathy, and problem-solving in nursing education.
Methods: A mixed-methods design was employed. A total of 60 participants (including nursing students and other healthcare professionals) engaged in the five phases of design thinking—empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test—to co-create healthcare solutions addressing nursing challenges such as palliative care. Quantitative data were obtained through pre- and post-intervention surveys assessing team collaboration, creative confidence, and empathy using validated instruments. Qualitative reflections and focus groups captured participants’ experiences with interdisciplinary teamwork.
Results: Following the design thinking–based interdisciplinary module, participants showed marked improvement in teamwork, creativity, and empathy. Quantitative results revealed higher scores in collaborative problem-solving (p < .01) , creative confidence (p < .01), and empathy (p < .01). Qualitative analysis identified three key themes: enhanced empathy in palliative care, shared innovation across disciplines, and reflection-driven learning. Participants described a deeper understanding of each other’s professional roles and a stronger commitment to patient-centered collaboration.
Discussion/Conclusion: Design thinking was found to be an effective approach to fostering interdisciplinary cooperation and human-centered learning in nursing education. By integrating empathy and innovation, participants co-created care solutions beyond disciplinary boundaries. Incorporating design thinking into nursing curricula can strengthen essential competencies—teamwork, creativity, empathy, and reflective practice—that prepare nurses for complex, collaborative healthcare settings. Based on these results, we recommend adopting design thinking modules to enhance interdisciplinary learning in nursing education.
Notes
References:
Beaird, G., Geist, M., & Lewis, E. J. (2018). Design thinking: Opportunities for application in nursing education. Nurse Education Today, 64, 115–118.
Bravo, K. (2023). Design thinking in nursing education and health sciences education. Nursing Education Perspectives, 44(3), 164–168.
Leary, M., Cacchione, P. Z., Demiris, G., Carthon, J. M. B., & Bauermeister, J. A. (2022). An integrative review of human centered design and design thinking for the creation of health interventions. Nursing Forum, 57(6), 1137–1152.
Plattner, H., Meinel, C., & Leifer, L. (Eds.). (2015). Design thinking research: Making design thinking foundational. Springer.
Silva, N. R. D., Costa, R., Locks, M. O. H., & Sebold, L. F. (2023). Design thinking: An approach to research and innovation in nursing. Cogitare Enfermagem, 28, e91552.
Tu, J. C., Liu, L. X., & Wu, K. Y. (2018). Study on the learning effectiveness of Stanford design thinking in integrated design education. Sustainability, 10(8), 2649.
Sigma Membership
Non-member
Type
Poster
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Mixed/Multi Method Research
Keywords:
Teaching and Learning Strategies, Coaching, Interdisciplinary, Nursing Education
Recommended Citation
Tsai, Su-Hui and Chang, Wei-Cheng, "Design Thinking: An Approach to Interdisciplinary Cooperation for Nursing Education" (2026). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 38.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2026/posters_2026/38
Conference Name
37th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Conference Year
2026
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-07-27
Design Thinking: An Approach to Interdisciplinary Cooperation for Nursing Education
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Background: Rapid changes in healthcare education demand innovative strategies that transcend disciplinary boundaries. Traditional nursing curricula often provide limited opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration, which restricts students’ problem-solving and creative competencies. This project applied the Design Thinking (DT) framework as an innovative pedagogical model to foster collaboration among nurses and other healthcare professionals. The purpose was to enhance collaborative learning, creativity, empathy, and problem-solving in nursing education.
Methods: A mixed-methods design was employed. A total of 60 participants (including nursing students and other healthcare professionals) engaged in the five phases of design thinking—empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test—to co-create healthcare solutions addressing nursing challenges such as palliative care. Quantitative data were obtained through pre- and post-intervention surveys assessing team collaboration, creative confidence, and empathy using validated instruments. Qualitative reflections and focus groups captured participants’ experiences with interdisciplinary teamwork.
Results: Following the design thinking–based interdisciplinary module, participants showed marked improvement in teamwork, creativity, and empathy. Quantitative results revealed higher scores in collaborative problem-solving (p < .01) , creative confidence (p < .01), and empathy (p < .01). Qualitative analysis identified three key themes: enhanced empathy in palliative care, shared innovation across disciplines, and reflection-driven learning. Participants described a deeper understanding of each other’s professional roles and a stronger commitment to patient-centered collaboration.
Discussion/Conclusion: Design thinking was found to be an effective approach to fostering interdisciplinary cooperation and human-centered learning in nursing education. By integrating empathy and innovation, participants co-created care solutions beyond disciplinary boundaries. Incorporating design thinking into nursing curricula can strengthen essential competencies—teamwork, creativity, empathy, and reflective practice—that prepare nurses for complex, collaborative healthcare settings. Based on these results, we recommend adopting design thinking modules to enhance interdisciplinary learning in nursing education.
Description
This study implemented Design Thinking (DT) as an innovative, human-centered approach to enhance interdisciplinary collaboration in nursing education. Participants engaged in the five phases of DT—empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. The results show that DT can foster team creativity, empathy, and problem-solving through experiential learning and co-creation of solutions. Integrating DT modules can strengthen essential interdisciplinary learning outcomes in nursing education.