Winner: Kelly Henderson

Kelly Henderson outlines her questions and explains her reasons for them.

Questions

1. When you think of a moment in your life when you felt cared for, what was that experience like? Please describe what it looked like and why it mattered to you. This doesn’t need to be related to a healthcare experience and it doesn’t need to be a major event, something very small is just as important. Please share why it stands out to you as a moment of care.
2. Where do you find humour in the course of your work in healthcare? Please share a story about something you experienced as a healthcare (student, practitioner, researcher, etc) where you found yourself laughing.
3. If you could add a space (room, outdoor area, etc) to the healthcare setting where you work, what would that space be? What would it look like, who would use it, and what would it offer? Please describe the space and share why it would be important.

Why these?

My questions all centre around encouraging people to share stories. I believe that through storytelling we can learn a lot about people’s values and emotional experiences which can begin to shed light into a more nuanced understanding of what factors may be contributing to our shared purpose in this field.

My first question asks them to describe a personal experience of what care looks like and means to them in their lives. I invite them to think outside of the healthcare setting since understanding the broader scope of what care means to people will be critical in helping uncover their individual motivations.

I’m trying to help people communicate about experiences where they felt a connection to others

The second question focuses on learning about how they have experienced and used humour in their everyday work in healthcare. I chose this because I think that humour is an essential ingredient in navigating complexity which there is no shortage of in healthcare. I also find that humour is an avenue for humanising experiences and offering a feeling of a shared connection. Laughter is an incredibly social act so I think it would be interesting to hear the range of answers you get here.

The last question is focused on imagining scenarios that are aiming to draw out stories about what they hope for, what matters to them beyond what they have seen today, and what gratitude looks like in their eyes.

Overall in my questions, I’m trying to help people communicate about experiences where they felt a connection to others through feeling cared for, by laughing, by creating a meaningful space, and by offering their appreciation.

About me

I am a researcher with a background in health psychology, public health, and human-centered design who is committed to contributing to work that focuses on social and environmental justice.

I get excited to learn with people using participatory research methods and storytelling. I am fascinated by how people understand and interact with complex systems and challenges in a broad range of fields including public health, climate change, public spaces, and public policies and services.

I have a BA in Psychology from Duke University and a Master’s in Public Health from the University of California Berkeley.