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Designing Healthy Communities

Formally named: UX Research Lab

What is the ambitious goal of this project?

Join this team to work as UX research interns with the applied science team at St Luke’s Health System (SLHS). Requires application to SLHS. Contact the VIP coach for details.

Participate in faculty research and engage in projects with community partners in a variety of roles providing direct experience with diverse user research (UX) practices, from field observations to interview transcription. You will analyze and interpret data and develop insights relevant to design decisions.

This project aims to be:

  • interdisciplinary: working at the confluence of design, anthropology, and community health
  • community integration: building an ecosystem of scholars, advocates, and stakeholders
  • continuity in application: providing students with applied research/design experience spanning multiple years
Kendall House and Caile Spear stand in front of white board with question what are your ideas for affordable off-campus housing?
Dr. House and Dr. Spear at VIP Showcase, collecting insights on affordable off-campus housing

The learning outcomes include:

  • Discuss, explain, and apply core user experience research methods.
  • Evaluate user research methods with respect to particular problems and select appropriate methods.
  • Analyze and interpret qualitative data and develop insights with implications for design decisions.
  • Explain the conceptual foundations of the practice of user research.
  • Discuss the relationship between design and user research.

Experience Gained

Students will have an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the following areas:

  • case studies
  • design thinking
  • fieldwork
  • participant/study observations
  • quantitative research methods
  • structured interviewing

Majors and Interests Needed

We are looking for students interested in working on teams, learning new tools and from all majors. Recommended for: students in health sciences / community health; social and behavioral sciences; social work; and art and design.

VIP Coach Information

Dr. Kendall House is Clinical Assistant Professor in the Anthropology Department where he leads the undergraduate UX Research Certificate and the Graduate Certificate in User Research. He is interested in design anthropology, applied ethnography, user research, the anthropology of work, and engagement on community health related issues.

Partner faculty:
Hilary Flint, PhD., MPH. Senior Manager, Applied Research Division, St. Luke’s Health System.
Hillary Swann-Thomsen, PhD. Applied Research Scientist. Applied Research Division, St. Luke’s Health System.

Course Information

VIP  200, VIP 400, or VIP 500 (find section with the class title: Designing Healthier Communities)
Full semester course. Choose to enroll in 1 or 2 credits.
Weekly meetings: Fridays 9:00 AM (remote)

Interested in joining this team?

For more information and to request a permission number to register contact Kendall House at khouse@boisestate.edu  OR complete this interest form and someone will contact you. Check out this page for tips on contacting a professor.

To register:  search by Subject: Vertically Integrated Projects, read the project description to find the right section of VIP 200, 400, or 500. Use permission number, here are instructions Add with a permission number

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