Abstract
The notion of design justice captures both the deliberate incorporation of injustice into technology and the pivotal role of human agency in mitigating such inequities through justice-oriented design. This paper employs a design justice perspective to examine Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) within the obstetrician/gynaecological (OB/GYN) context, given their direct involvement in the generation and presentation of health data of women patients. Qualitative research conducted on OB/GYN EMRs across four Indian hospitals reveals a systemic default of “normal patient”, necessitating considerable workarounds by OB/GYN consultants for patients labelled as non-normal. By analysing this occasional refusal of the EMR features originating in Western biomedical systems, manifested as the (non)use of EMRs, by doctors in our study, we suggest three pathways for design justice: working towards intersectionality-informed design; designing systems that allow users to inscribe their data preferences into digital health systems; and co-designing digital health solutions. These pathways offer significant implications for Information Systems (IS) design research, aligning with the perspective of design justice.
Recommended Citation
Tandon, Ayushi and Masiero, Silvia, "Electronic Medical Records of Women in an OB/GYN Context: A Design Justice Perspective" (2025). UK Academy for Information Systems Conference Proceedings 2025. 35.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/ukais2025/35