Rajvi Chandarana

This project explores how a design-led, culturally responsive service model can improve gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) care within Canadian hospital settings, particularly for newcomers and culturally diverse populations. While current care models are grounded in a strong biomedical framework focused on diagnosis, monitoring, and risk management, they often overlook the experiential, cultural, and systemic factors that shape how patients understand, navigate, and engage with care.

Using a qualitative, design-led literature synthesis, this study identifies key system-level gaps, including communication barriers, cultural misalignments in dietary and lifestyle recommendations, fragmented care pathways, and limited integration of psychosocial support. These challenges are especially pronounced for newcomers, who may face language barriers, an unfamiliar healthcare system, and limited access to culturally relevant resources.

In response, the project proposed a culturally responsive service design framework that enhances existing clinical programs rather than replacing them. The model integrates multilingual communications tools, culturally adapted educational resources, clear navigation support, and psychosocial care elements to improve accessibility, comprehension, and continuity of care.

By applying system and journey mapping, the research translates the interdisciplinary evidence into actionable design interventions that address both structural and experiential gaps in car delivery. The proposed approach positions design as an integrative layer within healthcare systems, strengthening how care is delivered and the experiences.

This project aims to support more equitable, patient-centred gestational diabetes care by aligning clinical effectiveness with the diverse cultural and social realities of patients' lives.

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Rajvi Chandarana is a Health Design student at OCAD University with a background in Public Health and Professional Communications. Her work focuses on designing inclusive, human-centred healthcare systems that improve access, equity, and patient experiences. She is particularly interested in addressing gaps in care for underserved populations, which include newcomers, unhoused individuals, and those experiencing chronic conditions such as diabetes.

Rajvi's recent research project explores how a design-led, culturally responsive services model can improve gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) care within Canadian hospital settings. The project identifies key gaps in current care models, including communications barriers, cultural misalignments in care practices, and fragmented care pathways, especially for newcomers. In response, Rajvi proposed an integrated services design framework that incorporated multilingual communication tools, culturally adapted resources, navigation support, and psychosocial care. Through systems thinking and journey mapping, her work aims to enhance care delivery by aligning clinical practices with patients' cultural and lived experiences, supporting more equitable and patient-centred outcomes.