How Can Speculative Design Help Anticipate Digital Health Intervention Risks?
Journal
ICIS 2025 Proceedings
Series
5
Type
conference paper
Date Issued
2025-12
Author(s)
Abstract
Many digital health interventions (DHIs) fail due to limited risk anticipation in early innovation stages. Expanding the scope of risk anticipation by speculating “how things could be” (possible) instead of restricting views to “how they are” (probable) could help. We examine how speculative design can enhance the anticipation of DHI risks by focusing on possible, rather than merely probable, futures. Grounded in construal level theory, we explore how speculative design can support blind spot detection, increase risk accessibility through narratives, and transform abstract risks into tangible artifacts. In a risk workshop, we asked 25 participants to create future scenarios and speculative artifacts for care of older adults, followed by a post-workshop survey in which we collected information about their experience. Initial results of our ongoing work indicate that speculative design may support risk anticipation in the preparation phase of DHIs. We discuss current limitations and outline future research directions.
Event Title
International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS)
Event Location
Nashville, USA
Event Date
14.12.-17.12.2025