AAC in Covid-19 intensive care units
Francesco Ganzaroli, Alessandra Galletti
National restrictive measures in Italy imposed to counter the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic have led to the emergence of new needs and the rethinking of work practices by professionals temporarily forced to suspend their activities. The experiences reported below are part of this framework and describe the inclusive co-design work of an architect and a pedagogist, who responded to real communication needs expressed by doctors operating in the Covid-19 intensive care units in Bolzano, making their experiences available to this emergency situation. This circumstance has highlighted how different professional figures can share visions and objectives and work together, to put their complementary knowledge into a system. The design led to the realization of a communication kit containing a patient booklet, tables for communication between doctors and patients based on Augmentative Alternative Communication, an ETRAN interaction model, and short video user guides. The kits have been made available to professionals operating in Covid-19 intensive care units, in order to make further customisations of the materials based on specific needs.
Keywords
Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), Human Centred Design (HCD), Covid-19, Intensive care unit, ICF.
