Health Haven | Web App Design
Reimagining mental health support for healthcare workers with a new platform
Overview
Project Brief
So many medical professionals suffer alone in silence from a variety of mental health conditions that are undiagnosed, misunderstood and/or stigmatized. In a field where practitioners are regularly faced with life or death situations and tough conversations, mental acuity is at a premium, while mental health conditions run rampant. Due to fear of judgement and risk of losing their patients', colleagues', and employers' trust, many healthcare workers hide their mental health struggles.
Doctors Under the Radar is an organization committed to providing a safe community platform for healthcare professionals where they can build communities, find resources, and foster support. They provide high-impact solutions to healthcare leadership to mitigate doctors’ burnout and suicide attempts, while reducing workplace stigma against seeking treatment for mental health issues. Their ultimate goal is to give medical professionals the mental health support they deserve so that they can better manage their mental health and the rigors of their job. Our objective is to create a web application that will support Doctors Under the Radar's mission.
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My Team
My Role
Cara Reiner | Project Manager
Aruba Amir | Research Lead
Payton Russell | UI Lead
Project Timeframe: 2.5 weeks
As the UI Lead, I was responsible for the following:​
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Led development of clear design guidelines, libraries, and components
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Designed a high-fidelity interactive prototype
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Produced sketches, user flows, and wireframes
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Developed visual concept/brand identity
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Assisted with competitive and secondary research
Problem
Healthcare workers need a way to connect with those in their community in order to manage their mental health and the rigors of their profession.
Solution
Create a platform where healthcare workers can connect, build communities, share resources, and support each other's mental health.
Methods Used
The following were leveraged in order to arrive at the final solution:
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Competitive analysis
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Secondary research
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User interviews
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Affinity mapping
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User flows
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Site mapping
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Sketches & Wireframes
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Mood board
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User testing
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Prototyping
Research
Competitive Analysis
We began our research by performing a competitive analysis in order to better understand the market, product, and goals of the project. Through researching the competition, we gained actionable insights that helped us begin thinking about what features might be important.​ By summarizing the competitors' strengths and weaknesses, we could then begin to identify some major design opportunities.
Key takeaways
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Many big-name mental health apps lack a community support aspect
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Most healthcare app competitors provide educational resources and materials
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While social apps and mental health support apps exist separately, there is an opportunity for a platform that combines elements of both
User Interviews
Through our personal networks, my team and I were able to recruit several people to interview in order to gain insight into people's unique perspectives and pain points. Ultimately, we interviewed 7 people, all who are currently working in the medical field or are medical students. The following were the primary topics discussed during the interview process:​​​​
Tell us about your experience working in the medical industry?
​On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being low and 10 being high, how stressful is your work?
​What methods have you used in the past to handle this stress?
What is something you love about the industry, and what is something that has been particularly hard for you?
​Do you have any experience attending therapy, support groups, or using other structured methods for addressing mental health?
Throughout your time working in the medical industry, have you ever experienced or witnessed stigma toward staff seeking mental health care?
What has been your relationship with the administrators/supervisors/higher-ups where you have worked?
What has been the approach of these teams to addressing staff's mental health needs?
What mental health supports are provided by your workplace/employer?
Tell us about any experience you have using community board sites, like Reddit, Discord, LinkedIn, MeetUp, or if you have found any communities you are close with through other social media.
Impactful Quotes
"I've definitely gotten some stigma indirectly from my parents, like, ‘what do you mean you need counseling?’"
“I've not done therapy. I rely on my community. It's hard to find affordable therapy.”
“Most people on my unit would support therapy but in the hospital some people are like 'just get through it.'”
Affinity Mapping
We then synthesized the interview data by organizing the responses into groups that uncovered the user's objectives, needs, and challenges. This helped us grasp the user experience and identify any areas where our assumptions needed validation or correction.
Affinity Mapping | Key Takeaways
User Protection
Users value a feeling of positivity and a sense that their community is an uplifting, safe space. Implementing a thorough screening process will be essential in assuring that .
Conversation
Most users expressed that they would prefer to have both have spaces for productive conversation and spaces to vent.
Community Focus
Most users currently prefer using a desktop app because it offers more functionality than mobile.
Resources
Besides. building communities, users want the option to access supplemental resources like educational materials, blogs, and therapist information.
Proto-Persona
Using our research findings, my team and I then formed a proto-persona, which further helped inform our design decisions. Take a look at Priscilla —
Priscilla represents our primary target user — a nurse who needs a way to build connections with other people who understand her struggles and experiences. She often feels isolated at work and lacks support in her personal life so she values a sense of community more than anything.
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Design
Design Studio
My teammates and I then conducted a design workshop in order to pitch all of our ideas using sketches. We began to visualize how the interface might look.
Site Map
I created a sitemap to help visualize the website's navigation structure and content. Using it as a guide, I could then began to visualize the steps a user would take to complete various tasks.
User Flows
Using the site map, I developed several user flows to help visualize how users might navigate through a specific task. I started by creating a flow illustrating how a user would create a new profile. See below —
This flow illustrates how a user would search for or create an event. See below —
Wireframing
Continuing the design process, I then created a series of wireframes in order to figure out how the interface would be laid out. I started with loosely building out the primary pages and identifying the key features within each.
Style Tile
As the UI Lead, I then created a style tile to help showcase the visual concept as well as some of the elements that would be included throughout the interface.
Prototype
Usability Testing
Once we had our the first iteration of our interactive prototype complete, my team and I then conducted usability tests in order to check whether the platform was easy to use and that our design choices would be interpreted the way we intended. These tests proved to be extremely helpful for us as we received feedback that allowed us to move forward in refining our prototype.
What's Not Working
One major insight we discovered through testing was the need for improvement in the design of the side menu within the resources section. We received feedback that finding an article wasn't very intuitive because of the navigation structure and naming of the categories within the side menu. It was expressed that because the content within the "discover" section (articles, books, videos, etc.) are primary resource subcategories, the navigation structure should reflect that. Having the contents of the "discover" category more visible would improve navigation. With this change, member picks and recommended resources could be included on the resource landing page rather than in the side menu.
Final Prototype Demo
Coming Soon!
Coming Soon!
Takeaways
Through this project, I discovered the value of collaborating with a team to reach a unified goal. Harnessing each others' strengths and maintaining strong communication throughout the process was key. I enjoyed working with my peers and truly believe it resulted in a stronger product.
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As the UI Lead, I also discovered the power of user research. Having a lack of experience within the healthcare industry, gaining insights into the motivations, desires, and pain points from so many different individuals in this field gave me so much inspiration. This project taught me just how exciting user research can be.