
Anthropology-Informed Business Principles for Brain Health
The key to addressing mental health may lie in business innovation theories.
COMMENTARY
Business anthropology—the use of anthropology constructs, theory and methods in organizations, marketing, consumer behavior and design—can improve product and service success.
The burden of mental health and cognitive disorders is projected to increase to around USD
Our field is embracing the potential of novel
Beyond the enthusiasm for new technology, market trends suggest an
Our field focuses on science and technology and rarely the broader business context and environment of deployment, implementation, and utilization. Inspired by Gillian Tett, PhD’s new book,
What Is Business Anthropology?
Applying business anthropology principles to brain health innovations can optimize deployment and bolster success.
Business anthropology integrates design principles to ensure that consumers and families are recognized as key stakeholders. Combining ethnographic research methodologies and first-hand observation and interviewing techniques with of theoretical knowledge from studying human societies across the world, business anthropology can offer the multidimensional approach required to promote brain health innovations.
Putting Business Anthropology’s Principles Into Practice
Business anthropology operates in 3 domains. First, it examines complex organizations to understand the nature and functioning of the organization internally and externally. Secondly, it explores the needs of consumers and their global context. Lastly, it observes the interactions of individuals and their environment to drive product design. All are particularly relevant in promoting better mental health. As the brain health technology field rapidly advances, business anthropology can help navigate the unprecedented complexities, changes, and challenges.
For example, the US Federal Drug Administration’s (FDA) controversial recent approval of a new Alzheimer treatment, aducanumab, has impacted the clinical and commercial milieu of Alzheimer disease. As aducanumab has been released onto the market, a new set of challenges have arisen. The entire healthcare ecosystem—payers, providers, and patients—must answer questions related to cost and value, screening, safety, and effectiveness. This controversy has led many authorities to pen
Telepsychiatry is another example. In the wake of COVID-19, there is now a hybrid of in-person and remote patient care in mental health settings, especially in psychiatry and psychotherapy. Innovations in hybrid in-person and remote patient care include asynchronous patient care, hybrid face-to-face and digital interventions, digital biomarkers, sensors for at-home monitoring, and telepsychiatry. Business anthropology can help ensure that health care delivery is conducted in a way that engages patients.. It can improve patient engagement through optimal implementation of technologies that bridge in-person and remote care.
Brain health advancements will continue to emerge, and with the insights of business anthropology, these scientific breakthroughs can reach patients in effective and cost-conscious ways.
The aging population will require
Concluding Thoughts
Technologies such as AI, omics, sensors, brain imaging, VR, and AR will continue to be developed and adopted to address the many brain health challenges that we face. Rapidly deployed business anthropology principles will help brain health stakeholders navigate these changes and successfully integrate brain health technologies into health care systems. Anthropology has played a formative role
Erin Smith is a director at the PRODEO Institute, an Atlantic Fellow in Brain Health Equity at the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and a Thiel Fellow at Stanford University. Dr Lenze is a geriatric psychiatrist at Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis. Dr Aragam is Chief Commercial Officer with Stanford University’s Brainstorm Lab and adjunct faculty with the Massachusetts General Hospital, affiliated with Harvard University. Dr Kaiser is CEO of Determined Health, Director of Geriatric Cognitive Health at the Pacific Neuroscience Institute (PNI) and adjunct professor at the University of Southern California. Dr Fu is an adjunct professor in engineering at Stanford University. Dr Leboyer is professor of psychiatry at the University Paris Est Créteil, in charge of the psychiatric and addiction centre at the Henri Mondor University Hospitals, director of the DHU PePSY, and director of the laboratory of “Psychiatrie Translationelle” Inserm U955, France. She is also operational director of the FondaMental Foundation. Dr Chen is an adjunct faculty member at UC Berkeley and Singularity University. Dr Berk is Alfred Deakin Professor of Psychiatry at Deakin University and director of IMPACT at Deakin University (Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation). Mark Heinemeyer is cofounder of the PRODEO Institute and CEO of PRODEO. Dr Eyre is cofounder of the PRODEO Institute, colead of the OECD NIPI, and holds adjuncts roles with IMPACT at Deakin University, GBHI at UCSF and Baylor College of Medicine.
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