‘You should already know that’: Defensive Practice in UCD/Agile environments

Defensive Practice is a well-understood term in health and social care circles. It describes a range of behaviours enacted by professionals which are rooted in protecting them from the very real repercussions of the risky work they do (for example, going to Coroner’s Court).

However, this behaviour is often at the expense of patients, or directly in conflict with providing good patient care. It can include overly restrictive care, not providing 'genuine' care at all and prioritising the maintenance of a professional image.

From her experience as a Mental Health Nurse and a Senior User Researcher, Laura has noticed a commonality and pattern of DP emerging in ambiguous or 'high risk' environments; which runs the risk of causing both patient and (UCD) project harm.

This talk speaks to this commonality across both spaces, how we can notice DP, and how we stop this way of working getting into our practice.

Participant takeaways:

• The consequences of DP on patient care
• Recognising DP behaviours in ambiguous or high-risk environments
• Mitigating DP in practice

This talk includes audience participation