HavenCare
2024
/
B2B
/
AI
Overview
This is a healthcare redesign attempt to empower patients with a history of trauma and improve patient-provider communication by transforming the physical patient room and optimizing the appointment booking process.
Team
3 Designers
1 Product Manager
Timeline
Oct - Dec 2023
Role
How might we help healthcare providers create safer spaces for trauma victims during their preventative exams?
Context
Why does this matter?
"I dread every visit, I feel completely helpless and re-triggered. It's terrifying."
— suvivor, about routine pelvic exams
Preventative healthcare for sexual assault survivors has shifted towards a less compassionate, more procedural approach, emphasizing checklists and standard interventions. This trend can re-traumatize survivors, especially during invasive procedures like pelvic exams, exacerbating their already higher rates of anxiety and PTSD.
Desk Research
Gathered foundational knowledge and technical terms
Nurses receive Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) training as part of their professional education.
Individuals who have experienced sexual violence may identify as either a survivor or a victim.
Surveys
While most providers lacked confidence in their training and felt rushed, 75% of patients felt unsafe during appts
With limited time, we aimed to gather diverse insights from three target user groups for a holistic understanding. Our participant pool included:
4 survivor/victim respondents
7 healthcare professionals (including residents and interns)
Synthesis of data / Affinity Mapping
We transcribed and synthesized all the data gathered from surveys and interviews into our digital dashboards for easy analysis. By affinity mapping the responses around shared themes, we were able to identify key problem areas.
User Interviews
Interviews confirmed what the surveys indicated
Cold exam rooms and the doctor's tone make patients feel uneasy.
Patients feel uninformed about their rights and unsure of what to expect during exams.
Both providers and patients struggle with understanding what trauma-informed care is.
Both providers and patients struggle with understanding what trauma-informed care is.
Defining Scope
Education on trauma-informed care, provider-patient consultation time, and provider soft skills were outside the scope of our domain
Addressing key pain points in trauma-informed training requires institutional changes beyond our scope, including:
Revamping trauma-informed education for healthcare providers.
Tackling time constraints, as providers must balance 20-minute appointments with clinic requirements.
Enhancing soft skills like empathy, sensitivity, and assuming all patients may have experienced trauma.
Key User Groups
Turning each into concepts…
How might we make patients more informed about what to expect from their appointments?
Redesign the appointment booking process to give patients the necessary information
How might we help patients feel more psychologically and physically safe in the exam room?
Optimize the physical space in the patient room through the integration of smart technology and physical elements
How might we bridge the communication gap between different providers?
Create a centralized patient profile that can be accessed and dynamically updated by various healthcare workers
Mid-Fidelity Wireframing
Usability Testing
We asked 7 users to book an appointment to test information discoverability, patient rights clarity, and their emotional state
Objectives of testing:
Discoverability of necessary information about exams they are due for.
If patients can seamlessly understand their rights
If the verbiage is intuitive and emotionally sound
How they felt when they entered accommodation information
Design Improvements
Viewing patients rights and responsibilities
Hi-fidelity designs
Finally getting it right!
01
Making the appointment booking more informative and patient-centric
Pre-Exam
The design prioritizes patient choice and autonomy by allowing them to pre-select exams, access essential information about their necessity, and learn about available accommodations
Optional Disclosures to accomodate individual needs
The optional disclosures page asks the patients clear questions, so they can choose to disclose any history of trauma before the appointment and ask for accommodations that can make them feel more comfortable.
This can help providers adapt to a patient’s individual needs
02
Redesigning Patient Check-in
Pre-Exam
At the check-in desk, in addition to signing required forms, patients get a second walkthrough of what to expect during their appointments, recap of their rights and resources, and can ask for further accommodations.
03
Optimizing the Physical Space: A Smart + Safe Patient Room
During Exam
This solution integrates physical elements with smart technology. Patients can:
Control temperature levels, and room lighting, and choose calming ceiling projections and hospital-approved aroma diffusers via tablets owned by the clinic.
The intention is to have the healthcare provider always be lower than the patient and make the patient feel physically comfortable and safe.
04
Patient Feedback Form
Post-Exam
A post appointment feedback form to collect feedback on how a consultation went (what went right? What could’ve been better?) and keep it on file will further personalize a patient’s experience for any subsequent appointments and help providers assist patients more effectively.
In hindsight…
I learned the value of systems thinking and how to balance user needs with constraints
As unique as a user's needs can be, they don't exist in isolation. Speaking to providers and patients allowed me to look at the problem from multiple angles and propose more balanced solutions.
After conceptualizing a design solution, I switched to an engineering perspective to assess its integration with existing systems. This approach enabled us to define the project's scope and propose solutions viable for both business and development.
Future Work
There is opportunity to address more issues and conduct more thorough testing of our designs
Understanding patient experiences has been challenging, but prioritizing patient needs is essential. However, physicians must enhance their soft skills for trauma-informed care, as current medical education often lacks standardized training, resulting in significant variability in knowledge. Improving trauma-informed care training for physicians presents a vital opportunity for enhancement. Additionally, conducting more usability testing on different user flows would help refine the design at a granular level and address any existing gaps.