Background
With a profound passion for LGBTQ+ healthcare, I felt a compelling need to channel my design expertise into crafting an unprecedented healthcare initiative. Currently, there is a noticeable absence of LGBTQ+ healthcare platforms that prioritize the vital connection between clinicians and patients. This initiative seeks to redefine the healthcare landscape, emphasizing the importance of forging intimate relationships with healthcare providers.
The healthcare journey can be an immensely personal and daunting experience for many individuals. By cultivating meaningful connections between patients and providers, Pascal not only aims to not only bridge the gap, but also create an environment where individuals feel safe, understood, and empowered. This approach encourages individuals to proactively seek care, fostering a sense of trust and openness in their healthcare relationships.
In a world where inclusive and empathetic healthcare is not just a preference but a necessity, this initiative endeavors to reshape the way LGBTQ+ healthcare is delivered, ultimately improving access, quality of care, and overall well-being for the community.
The Challenge
The challenges of this project are multifaceted and unique, making it an exciting yet demanding endeavor. Here are some of the key challenges I faced:
Limited competitors for benchmarking
One of the primary challenges is the scarcity of competitors and similar platforms in the LGBTQ+ healthcare space. While this presents an opportunity to be a pioneer, it also means we lack direct benchmarks for best practices and user expectations.
Complexities of the medical industry
Developing a healthcare platform effectively requires a deep understanding of medical terminology. Additionally, staying current with evolving medical guidelines and best practices is essential to provide accurate information and services to users.
User education
Educating users on the benefits and proper utilization of the platform is a challenge. Being that the primary focus is matching a patient with a clinician, providing comprehensive and user-friendly guides and tutorials becomes essential.
Healthcare literacy
Not all users may have the same level of healthcare literacy. Tailoring educational resources to meet the diverse needs of is a challenge.
Inclusivity for all
Understanding and respecting the diverse identities and backgrounds within the LGBTQ+ community is vital.
Legal and regulatory compliance
Healthcare is a highly regulated field, and navigating these regulations, particularly in the context of LGBTQ+ care, presents additional challenges.
Benchmarking
A holistic approach to benchmarking was essential to identify best practices and user experience standards in this specialized healthcare context. While there were limited comparable platforms, I wanted to dive deep in understanding the intricacies of the medical industry and better understand what a user experiences or finds currently.
Competitive audit featuring other LGBTQ+ healthcare initiatives
Iterating
My commitment to an iterative design approach for this project allowed me to employ methodology that involved a continuous cycle of prototyping, testing, learning, and refining. Considering some of the challenges I was facing, it was essential to understand the needs of users through this design approach.
Research
My thesis not only contributed valuable insights to LGBTQ+ healthcare, but also provided tangible research and statistics on the current landscape of the industry. This research laid the foundation for the development of Pascal.
When moving into the design portion of the process, I was able to implement a lot of the research on the medical industry into the prelmimarny design phases. Being that there were still questions left unanswered, I conducted quantitative and qualitative research to answer those questions and guide my design work.
Once I had low fidelity prototypes, I began conducting A/B testing with a small group of participants to get a sense of what components and page elements users preferred. Building from this feedback, I moved into higher fidelity prototypes, in which I conducted moderated usability tests to better understand how a user performs a specific task and understand any frustrations they experience along the way.
Quote from research
Quote from research on patient care
Final Work
Pascal Health represents more than a thesis; it symbolizes a commitment to improving the lives of LGBTQ+ individuals through innovative and inclusive design. It is my hope that this work inspires others to adopt similar approaches, championing empathy, and making healthcare a more accessible and compassionate experience for all.
Final landing page
Patient Page
A large portion of my research findings indicated LGBTQ+ patients felt a strong disconnect between patient intake forms. By creating a consistent form with only essential questions geared toward the type of care the patient is looking for, it brought the control back to the patient to receive the care they need and want.
Along with this, an analysis into the type of questions being asked was conducted. From these findings, I created three sections of questions: personal information, care goals, and insurance questions.
Patient Intake Form
Insurance Intake Form question close-up.
Clinician page
Clinician Intake Form
Written thesis print
Written thesis print