As an in-class project at SVA, our team created a digital solution to improve health outcomes for Black birthing parents at NYU Langone Health, aiming to address the mortality rates during childbirth due to racial bias. We identified pain points in miscommunication and lack of respect from healthcare providers. Our product empowers patients to contribute cultural and preference data, enhancing their control over the pregnancy process and minimizing miscommunication. We emerged as winners in the Strategic Innovation in Product and Service Design pitch competition, recognized by NYU Langone Health Center for Digital Health Equity.
Sep-Dec 2022
· Ideated ideas and did concept development
· Designed user flows, wireframe, UX UI, and interactive prototyping
· Iterated final design by user testing
· Led the concept video by making the storyboard and storyline
April Chien(Designer)
Allison Hsin Chiu(Designer)
Suri Namkoung(Designer)
1st Place in Strategic Innovation in Product & Service Design class (Fall 2021)
This project was guided by FuturePractice lab, within NYU Langone Health. They seek innovative digital solutions and experiences to facilitate greater equity and inclusion for all NYU Langone patients.
The New York Health Foundation
©The New York Times
©Ancient song doula services
“I couldn't tell them I felt discriminated against because all doctors who attended to me were white. If I could get one black carer I could have a chance to try to tell him”
“My labor ended up being 24 hrs. There weren’t notes in the system or they didn't even take the time to look at the ultrasound pictures to see if my daughter had turned around yet.”
“I'm the type of person who want to have vaginal birth but they wasn't really supportive of that. They kept asking me to get a C section. They just didn't have the respect my religious beliefs.”
Patients are often restrained or hesitant to speak up due to fear of discrimination
There is miscommunications between patients and healthcare workers due to the lack of patient generated data
Patients think the feedback system in the hospital is not reliable because they never got a call back
Patients don’t feel educated enough about conditions to speak up
Hospital has a library of comprehensive informational resources to provide
Doctors have tight schedules and don’t have much availability
Patients are willing to learn and seek out answers on their own time
There’s a general fear of discrimination around the white healthcare workers they interact with
Hospital also offers visits available for booking with doctors from different racial group
Patients want their doctor to know who they are even if they are assigned a different doctor at each visit
Hospital file transfers don’t have any user’s information or input other than diagnosis from their previous doctor
Patients often have choices pushed onto them, like taking pain killers when they are against taking them or having a c-section when they want a natural birth
Doulas exist to help explain different options so they are prepared to make informed decisions during their pregnancy and labor
Patients don’t feel educated enough about conditions to speak up
Provide patients with tailored resources and education
Empower patients to take control of their own pregnancy process
Extend healthcare beyond hospital visits
“I especially like my plan, birth plan, and readings because they not only let me set preferences but also guide me about certain choices a birthing parent I might need to make.”
Users didn’t really prioritize Journaling feature.
“There isn't any digital birth plan now, so seeing those maternity preferences they set let us know their expectations quickly and that each visit could focus on more important parts.”
Doctors have limited time
Hospital is visit-oriented
Initial idea
· Journaling - Writing patients' experiences with pregnancy and sharing how they feel about the process
· Doctor's comment - Answering patients' questions on journals and understanding their feelings
Final concept
· My plan - Communicating preferences with healthcare providers
· Reading - Providing educational materials to empower their decisions.
Serving as a digital doula, users can set different preferences for various aspects, including choose a doctor with cultural background or ethnicity similar to theirs.
Drawing on the demographic data that users input when signing up, Black birthing parents are provided with specific resources tailored to their background and related health conditions.
Users have an opportunity to record any symptoms and questions for their doctors that can be reviewed at their next visit, getting an additional space for them to communicate their needs and expectations to doctors.
Users can talk to either get quick answers to more basic questions or to be directed to resources on topics they’re curious about, allowing certain information to be communicated outside of hospital visits.
Based on user-generated input when signing up, users can get the right information about their maternity process at the right time on a weekly basis. Patients prep the birth experience before every next visit and this can make them communicate with doctors seamlessly on the visiting dates.
“Patients prep the birth experience week visit. They can be ready for these modules. Give them the right information for the right time, Super helpful.”
“Having a centralized place of knowledge, Journaling, education, questioning, tracking all the process one place. I really like that component.”
“Although having a strong religious belief, I don't know where to talk about it and where to start. Your app, I feel confident about. I will give it over to the doctor”
“It will become easier to handle your stress, emotions, and everything. This app is for modern moms who are active at adopting digital tools”
As an Asian woman coming from a homogeneous country, I didn't have many interactions with people who have been hurt by racial discrimination. They mentioned at first, "We are not your research data." Considering that they may face difficulties in sharing their experience with us, we put an extra effort into making the research participants feel comfortable by waiting for meetings for an average of 2 hours, enabling them to make a phone call, and use preferred names.
Inclusive design extends solutions to all users with a broad spectrum of intersectional needs, perspectives, and behaviors. Enhancing the hospital service overall to serve Black birthing parents with the same high-quality care experienced by all birthing parents was more efficient. Most importantly, I learned how to include people with various cultural backgrounds and perspectives by this project.
I focused our design solution on ‘encouraging communication’ between health care providers and patients since our users want to feel more cared for by doctors. Since doctors are so busy and have less availability, we focused on preparation for reducing ‘miscommunication’. As a designer, I realized it is essential to make the most feasible decision for both users and stakeholders.
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