Challenges and opportunities for service design[ers] in Vietnam: the Ho Chi Min City’s public healthcare context

Abstract

In the last decade, service design has been promoted globally as an approach to creating efficient and meaningful experiences for customers, users, and citizens. However, in some regions, its practices are incipient. This study listened to design practitioners in Ho Chi Minh City, the largest Vietnamese metropolis, to unveil issues and opportunities for service design in the public sector, mainly healthcare services. The practitioners’ lenses helped to identify various HCMC citizens’ pain points to accessing public [healthcare] organizations. It also describes obstacles professionals face collaborating with government bodies to propose a change via service design. Although the local designers suggested potential approaches to improve the service offering in public and private sectors, they mostly lack opportunities to develop expertise in service design.