Problem
Talking to others I found out I wasn’t alone with handling a loved one needing assistance, not sure what next steps were as well as the struggle to keep organised with the care they needed. Something centralized was needed to assist, educate and help with organization.
Goals
The creation of an app that encompasses a broad range of care: warning signs that care should start. what to do when the loved one passes. Covering not just what you need to do but having consideration for the caregiver's well being as well.
Roles
Apps only covered a specific subject. One for funeral arrangements, one for elder care, one for medication tracking. Nothing all inclusive.
Apps were vague with the information. A Lot of the apps used terminology without definition. Others offered resources limited to a specific region like Singapore or South Africa.
Buggy! Buggy! Buggy! Some apps never opened, others were riddled with internal errors.
Questions were focused on what the care was and lessons learned from it. Additional discussions were about mental states of Loved Ones and caretakers as well as funeral arrangements.
I feel this was cathartic for them, having a chance to vent about the experience for the first time. More on that later.
Caregivers did not prioritize their mental health, bottling up their thoughts and emotions.
Caregivers just dove in and started caregiving.
Information overload set in, everything was the same priority level.
Most caregivers took care of loved ones locally , some managed out of state via the internet, phone calls and remote video.
Helped organize the key responses and group them to discover common issues.
Helped me take the key responses and frame them into the interview discoveries.
Meilian is English Professor at a local college, avid knitter and recently married. She has become closer to her mother Eu-Meh since her father passed. Eu-meh lives about 90 minutes away in the house Meilian grew up in.
Age: 49
Siblings: One
Status: Married
Children: None
My mom is getting older and can’t live
independently anymore.
What steps should I take with her needing assistance?
Confused Stressed. Overwhelmed
Some sort of plan or guide on what to do for her mom.
Access to her moms medical records.
Getting a Will written and other legalities I need to be aware of.
Meilian’s mom is remote and can’t check on her conveniently.
Meilian doesn’t trust her mom with
handling her medical appointments.
Meilian’s mom says she doesn’t need help.
Tarone is a Industrial Architect in a private firm.
Paints and writes poetry in his spare time. While his dad lives nearby Tarone had his dad move in because his care is increasing.
Age: 51
Siblings: none
Status: Married
Children: two
I've started caring for my father with cancer while
raising my kids. How can I stay mentally focused
and be there for everyone?
Unresponsive Frustrated Disorganized
Away to keep everything organized.
To get back to being there for all
his family.
What to do if his father passes away.
User retention:
User has multiple accounts as well as recommends to other potential users.
additional accounts are a one time fee per account.
Build a reliable brand for partnerships with related resources. Example: medical equipment.
Monetize with search rankings for location finders of various medical and elder care facilities.
* Presenting as a aCreate an inclusive resource for Caregivers to hit the ground running.
The app aims to give prioritized information.
keep the Caregiver organized to help with their mental health during this stressful time. photographer.
* Looking to engage in conversation.
* Finding a local photographer easier.
* Finding a photographer that you can relate with.
* To be confident the photographer is a professional and is trustworthy.
* The photographer is in your price range.
App will cover guidance on various stages of care: Partial and 24/7 care, hospice guidance as well as end of life care.
Easily accessible for multiple caregivers handling a single loved one.
App will give advice for caregivers on handling their mental health.
Centralizing of the various medical professionals treating a loved one.
Legalities on specific medical advice.
HIPA laws on aggregators for doctor portals.
Designed for ease of use on phone as well as tablet.
Compatible to a range of mobile and tablet brands.
Once laid out I realized how extensive the app could be.
Being aware of development time and cost I needed to prioritize deliverables on launch and what will be for phase two.
Account creation: One free profile, additional profiles will be pay as needed.
To do list: Checklists for common caregiving scenarios
Glossary: Glossary for terms that may not be familiar to the caregiver that will appear in the App.
Mental health resources: Tools on how to handle the mental of the caregiver.
Calendar for caregivers: To add appointments and share with additional caregivers. App will update to the device calendar as well.
Medication tracker: Keep track of what meds are given on what day.
Notes section: For additional comments and reminders for the caretakers.
Doctor Section Portal: Keeping all Doctor/Patient portals organized in one location.
Ordering functionality: List of items with discount for ordering through the app.
More end of life resources: More content on hospice, funeral arrangements and estate handling.
Map search: Search for local hospitals, doctors, therapists, medical supplies, hospice, rehab, funeral, etc..
Adding a secondary caregiver to your loved ones profile your caring for.
Adding and scheduling a new medication to your loved ones medication list.
Not quite yet…
Before diving into thumbnails a few more things are needed for visual guidance.
Mood board
Searching various design sites for inspiration I created a moodboard with ideas for design and color concepts.
Core values
I took this time to also create the Core Values for the app:
Guidance in helping a first time caretaker.
Reassurance that as daunting as the situation is, it can be accomplished.
Organization with all the responsibilities being handed over to the caretaker.
Confidence with all the needs to be done.
Clarity in helping to understand all the new information and responsibilities a caretaker will be facing.
Lo fidelity
I started working through layout ideas on paper first.
I find it faster than using Figma at this step and limits the urge to start tweaking to a finish.
Mid fidelity
From paper to Figma. Things are starting to take shape!
I started creating components now so I can easily update with colors as well as the typeface when I go to Hi Fi development.
User Testing
Before going to High fi development I circled back to a few of my interviewers as well as a ER Nurse to walk through the Mid Fidelity.
Some minor changes to the icons “loved ones” and “your profile” icons were not made clear as well as needing some additional links on the Lead Caregiver profile page.
Overall the app was well recieved and interviewers brought more ideas for next day deliverables. While not a focus in the user flow the acknowledgement of the caregivers mental health section was greatly appreciated.
Color Pallette
I decided on colors that were emotionally calming and easy on the eyes for extended periods of time.
As with anything in development nothing is written in stone.
Just when I decide I have finalised my palate…..Will get to that in a minute.
#DACFF2
#E7E2F1
#B6C9CA
#263F40
#0D1718
#FFFFFF
#28C1C6
#000000
#CCCCCC
I wanted something simple, clean and readable in any color.
The logo needed to express compassion and assistance. I initially tried to avoid overused hearts. After some time and a few thumbnails the hearts started to come in, they are recognised them as compassion and caring which lead me to the final design of someone assisting another in a heart shape.
I had some minor design arrangements to modify like legal notices were hidden under the footer navigation.
The majority had trouble with adding the new assistant caregiver to your loved one.
You can also see how easily legal was missed.
This was a challenging experience. Particularly with budget and timeframe for launch day deliverables.
I’m excited about the potential of Care Assist. What started as an idea for a few what to do lists has evolved into overall caretaking.
Next steps include syncing patient portals, equipment ordering, and reviews as well as care for the health of the caregiver themselves.