Title: Envisioning Technology-Mediated Futures of Care Work

Date: April 10th, 2024

Time: 10:30am — 12:30pm

Location (in-person): CODA 1115, Druid Hills

Location (Zoom): https://gatech.zoom.us/j/92902502034?pwd=aXk5M0ppcGtLUDBkZUpDVzc4S1hpQT09 

Karthik Seetharama Bhat

PhD Candidate in Human-Centered Computing,

School of Interactive Computing,

Georgia Institute of Technology

Committee:

Dr. Neha Kumar (Advisor) – School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology

Dr. Michael L. Best – School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology

Dr. Jennifer G. Kim – School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology

Dr. Andrea G. Parker – School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology

Dr. Mohit Jain – TEM Group, Microsoft Research India

Abstract:

Healthcare delivery and care work are increasingly being seen as areas where information and communication technologies (ICTs) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies could play key roles in streamlining existing processes and improving current care workflows. Prominent efforts in this space have taken the form of patient-generated health data and other health tracking approaches, patient empowerment through ICTs, remote care technologies, online health, and caregiver support, all largely taking a predominantly patient-centered approach to design. At the same time, emerging technologies like conversational and generative AI, wearable devices, and smart home technologies have all been described as potentially revolutionary advances in care work. They promise to automate and transform the overall care experience for caregivers and patients, and are receiving increasing attention and investment from both academia and industry. This comes at a time when there is an acute demand for improved care infrastructures around the world in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, there is an urgent need to understand not only how such technologies support and enable care work, but also how they can be integrated meaningfully into culturally situated care workflows. When done well, this could serve to redistribute the burdens of care work onto technologies while maintaining patients' and caregivers' agencies in care and ensuring continued provision of patient-centered care.

In this dissertation, I examine different contexts of care and how technology-mediated workflows are being employed in care provision in urban India. I employ ethnographic and qualitative research methods, and technology probes to gain insights into how various stakeholders in care ecologies are using ICTs in their care practice. My dissertation brings us to a point where we understand how existing care workflows are attempting to leverage technologies towards meeting the aspirational goals of patient-centered care, and how and where they are facing hurdles. I contribute rich descriptions of how various ecological actors leverage technology-supported workflows in their everyday care work at home, in clinical settings, and in public health. This dissertation further contributes empirical insights into how these practices are influenced, informed, and constrained by sociocultural norms and socioeconomic realities, and what it might mean to better approach technology integration into care workflows. Through design recommendations and implications for each of the three contexts of care, my dissertation helps envision how new technology-mediated practices might comprise more equitable, accessible futures of care work.