Graduate Studies

Strategic Foresight and Innovation (MDes)

Ireena Haque

Dismantling Weight Bias Towards Overweight Patients in Ontario Healthcare

Weight bias towards overweight patients is a prevalent form of discrimination present in healthcare today. These patients routinely receive unfair treatment, weight-focused diagnoses and shaming from healthcare providers. This causes psychological and physiological stress for the patients, and a hesitant attitude towards accessing healthcare. The weight bias problem exists in almost every aspect of the healthcare system and is present in most countries. This paper focuses on dissecting this issue in Ontario healthcare using the Systemic Design Toolkit. It starts by framing the system followed by listening to the actors involved. Influences and root causes are investigated to understand the system. The paper then moves towards defining the desired future for the issue followed by ideating solution spaces using leverage points. At the end, an innovative strategic solution model is proposed and a transition roadmap is provided to demonstrate the implementation plan. Interviews, surveys and workshops are the primary methods of research used to investigate the issue.Findings indicate the rampant presence of weight bias amongst family medicine practitioners in Ontario healthcare with sources of the issue rooting back to a societal fear of fatness. The ultimate desire for patients is revealed to be a better, more understanding relationship with their doctors, which can be achieved through diagnoses beyond high weight, treatments beyond weight loss and an approach that looks beyond their body-size. Four solution spaces are proposed and then narrowed down to provide the most meaningful and feasible path forward. The new collaborative solution model is presented with a ten-year roadmap that requires constant efforts and partnerships with different stakeholders in the system.