Design for mental wellness during a psychosocial global distress

Abstract

India imposed the largest lockdown in world in response to fight the spread of the Novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from 19 March till 31 May 2020. The onset of the pandemic left the general public feeling psychosocially distressed, helpless and anxious. Academic research that focuses on mental wellness during times of psychosocial distress remains limited and unexplored. One of the prominent areas is designing tools and technology to bridge the gap between psychological needs and disaster management, especially in India. Using design research methodology and human centered design principles, the researcher identified a tool to help promote mental wellness and bring about a behavioral change in people s minds using the broaden and build theory of psychological wellness (Fredrickson 1998), with an objective to promote positivity and mental well-being. The study demonstrated through human centered design, how problems can be identified, validated and how an intervention can be used to reduce the impact of the problem. The qualitative research applies experimental research methodology using questionnaires and in-depth interviews. These methods when combined together have created a more empathetic approach to mental wellness during a crisis situation. Thematic analysis was conducted with data analysis method which refers to systematically identifying, organizing and offering insights into patterns of themes among qualitative raw data newline