I led the visual and service design in partnership with Northwestern Medicine to address accommodation kit challenges for individuals with communication disabilities in outpatient clinics.
Northwestern Medicine
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Brief
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Secondary Research
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User Interviews
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Journey Map
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Insights
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HMW Statement
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Prototyping
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Final Solution
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Final Presentation
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Reflection
NORTHWESTERN MEDICINE
I led the visual and service design in partnership with Northwestern Medicine to address accommodation kit challenges for individuals with communication disabilities in outpatient clinics.
-
Brief
-
Secondary Research
-
User Interviews
-
Journey Map
-
Insights
-
HMW Statements
-
Prototyping
-
Final Solution
-
Final Presentation
-
Reflection
Northwestern Medicine partnered with our Northwestern Design team to address the challenges related to accommodation kits for individuals with communication disabilities in an Out-Patient Clinic space.
northwestern design team
Our team conducted virtual interviews with healthcare professionals to understand accommodation kits and explore opportunities to redesign services for better accessibility, where I identified three key findings.
Making it work Communication impairments are overlooked due to infrequent encounters by outpatient staff
Comfort you can see Patients value spaces that prioritize comfort and visibility, improving accessibility
Visibility drives action Prominently displayed items help raise staff awareness of accessibility needs
virtual interviews
After the interviews, the insights guided me in designing a stakeholder and observation journey map that detailed the experience of patients with communication impairments during clinic appointments and care.
stakeholder and observation journey map
From our journey map, we identified 4 insights that capture the underlying challenges faced by patients with communication impairments within the clinic space.
Making needs known
Patients and medical staff require effective communication channels to relay and integrate patients’ personal accommodation needs seamlessly into medical visits
No clear playbook
Insufficient information about accommodation kits arises from the lack of standard operating procedures for effectively addressing the needs of communication-impaired patients
Use what’s there
Existing infrastructure and resources are underutilized in addressing and accommodating communication impairments effectively
Hidden in plain sight
The inability to recognize "invisible" impairments often hinders the provision of appropriate accommodations
After identifying key insights, our team developed 3 'How Might We' (HMW) statements to address our initial challenge and align with our research findings.
HMW. . . properly leverage existing resources to better inform and accommodate individuals with communication impairments?
HMW. . . facilitate more personalized and consistent patient-staff communication to better integrate accommodation needs?
HMW. . . lower the barriers to recognizing and accommodating communication impairments?
From our insights, we brainstormed various solutions during prototype sessions and ultimately selected an intervention prototype.
brainstorming ideas
intervention selection
After selecting our prototype, I designed our final solution, an accommodation flyer that reflects our research findings and addresses communication challenges faced by patients with impairments.
The accommodation flyer is a visual aid designed to provide the following benefits for both patients and front desk staff:
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allows patients to identify available accommodations visually
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provides clear visual representations of materials for better understanding
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enables front desk staff to assist patients in requesting accommodations
accommodation flyer
After finalizing our solution, we presented it to our partners at Northwestern Medicine, sharing our research, findings, and the solution that led to our final resolution.
northwestern design team + northwestern medicine team
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Mapping the experience Gained hands-on experience in service design by identifying patient needs, mapping out service touchpoints, and creating user-centered solutions to enhance healthcare delivery.
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Working with the experts Partnered with Northwestern Medicine, gaining valuable insights into healthcare needs and designing solutions that enhance patient care.
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Understanding people first Collaborating with healthcare professionals deepened my understanding of designing with empathy to create practical, patient-centered solutions.
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