Pathion: Motivational Treatment Plans for Out-Patients
PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH | CO-DESIGN | HACKATHON
This intervention was developed as part of a three day transatlantic hackathon, hosted by the 5G Transatlantic Lab. My team was composed of myself as user research and user experience specialist, Mario Garcia and Ivana Llobet as a medical specialists, and Eudald Mas as business specialist.
OPPORTUNITY
Between 25% and 50% of out-patients do not adhere to treatment due to lack of motivation while in-patients often report feelings of loneliness and isolation. How might we help young patients adhere to treatment plans so that they might remain at home as often as possible?
OUTCOME
A patient, family, and physician-facing treatment plan application to assist patients in tracking their treatments using behavioural nudges and motivational incentives.
THE INTERVENTION
The Pathion application uses behavioural nudges to improve compliance of patient treatment plans. By breaking down patient plans into simplified steps that reward each completed actions, patients are motivated by non-medical rewards to remain consistent in thier care. Patient challenges such as isolation can also be addressed by allowing families and friends to submit rewards to the app. These rewards might include favourite meals, social activities, or other preferred gifts. In turn, physicians and family can opt-in with permission of the patient to track patient progress and act as a facilitation guide for conversations around a treatment plan.
USER RESEARCH
Prior to building the Pathion solution, I engaged in a series of user interviews and academic research to determine where problem spaces might exists within the healthcare environments minors navigate. From there I walked my team through the double diamond design method to understand what solutions might be best suited to the problems identified. Through this research I proposed a safe shared space where patients can track their journey and get personalized rewards when achieving milestones through a gamified experience.
Implementation
Upon Completing the design, we then determined the best path forward to adequately implement and fund this concept through development. This implementation plan considered both the business requirements of stakeholders, but time and resources needed for iterations and development as well.
