Patient Education Experience

When beginning our work with the Hearing Loss Clinic, the goal of the providers was to provide an improved educational experience for families while they were visiting. Among our many research methods, our most informative was user interviews. Through interviews, we were able to understand if the educational experience at the clinic was something that users struggle with. We were able to interview both caregivers and providers to understand all perspectives of the care process.

The following were the key findings that surfaced after synthesizing the data collected from both primary and secondary research efforts:

Through our research, we were able to understand that the success of the clinic experience is co-dependent on both the patient and the provider. The patient and their families need the provider to help them navigate the journey of learning how to manage hearing loss. At the same time, the provider has to more specifically know the unique needs of each caregiver in order to deliver effective patient education.

This dependency led us to identify three user groups to focus on when optimizing the Hearing Loss Clinic education experience. First time visitors, returning visitors, and HLC clinic providers.

For each type of user, we identified goals, pain points, and needs. This helped us synthesize what we learned in research in an applicable way. These archetypes kept us focused on the user needs as we designed a solution.

What caregivers are looking for at the HLC depends on where in the care process they are. Depending on if the user is a new or returning visitor at the clinic, they have different resources that they need and want to access. Through an onboarding experience, the user will be motivated to increase engagement with the HLC care process. The personalization of this tool will allow them to tailor the care experience to their very unique needs.

Giving the caregivers a preview of the features available in the product allows them to get a snapshot of what kinds of resources are available to them. The "previews" in the cards on the dashboard helps the caregiver build expectations on what they will be able to achieve with this product.On the dashboard, users can see various sections that were found to be meaningful and impactful during the research process.

‍Tidbits
Throughout the research process, HLC providers expressed their struggle to put extremely complex and technical information into "layman's terms". On top of this, as caregivers struggle to comprehend very technical information, they are hesitant to ask clarifying questions at risk of "sounding stupid". Tidbits are designed to be bite-sized pieces of important information that is easy to understand. Information presented here is designed to be actionable, simple, and quick to understand.

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‍Provider Information
Caregivers do not always know what each provider is available to help them with, especially on their first visit to the clinic. During user interviews, some caregivers expressed a desire to learn more about providers prior to their appointments in order to feel prepared with questions to ask. Provider overviews can help caregivers get a preview or refresher on what they will be learning, as well as recommend some questions that the caregiver can ask during the appointment.
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The connect feature allows users to view featured stories of other caregivers who have been on the same journey that they are currently on. Each story allows caregivers to learn from others' experiences and feel like they are not alone. These stories show what kinds of groups and support systems caregivers can seek out.
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Resource management was one of the biggest issues that both caregivers and providers faced. With an exhaustive and easy to navigate resource library, providers can easily educate caregivers both inside and outside of the clinic. Caregivers can easily refer to the same materials they saw in the clinic after they go home, allowing them to more easily comprehend the material at their own pace.

‍Provider Resources
These are resources that are specifically curated by providers. These are collections created to enable caregivers return to materials that they saw in the clinic during their appointment.

FAQ
Providers and administrators at the HLC expressed that there are various frequently asked questions by clinic attendees, but no centralized location for them find answers. The frequently asked questions resource was an imperative feature in solving that concern.

General Resources
The post diagnosis journey can be overwhelming and filled with too much information. Often times, caregivers will turn to the internet to answer their immediate questions, which leads to even more confusion and apprehension. General resources provided directly by the clinic allow caregivers to access a curated and reliable set of educational materials and articles. Filtering and favoriting allows an easy way to navigate and organize content that they are interested in.

During the interview process, we uncovered that caregivers sometimes don't know what the next step is. After their HLC appointment, they aren't sure what to do next. There are many required tasks that caregivers must keep track of during the care journey of a child with hearing loss. This ranges from things like when and how to talk to schools, when to reach out to mental health resources, and when they need to return to the HLC next.

With the timeline feature, we are hoping to reduce the overwhelm of caregivers who are trying to manage many tasks. They not only know what to expect today, but also can choose to understand what the next month or year will look like in terms of care. Caregivers can look at the step by step process of tasks to complete for each aspect of the care of their child.