Rethinking healthcare services for the elderly

My role: UX researcher and facilitator

The design studio team: Lead UX researcher, service designer, videographer.

Context:

A Singapore-based client looked into developing design solutions that better meet the health and wellness needs of the elderly in Singapore.

Brief:

Compile case studies, customer journey maps and themes to facilitate design and ideation workshops with healthcare sector stakeholders in Singapore.

Outcomes

• Development of service concepts suited to the unique characteristics of Singapore. 

• Publication of themes in government publication.

• Recommendations integrated in the Government's $3billion Action Plan for Successful Ageing

• New residential block for elderly designed and completed, incorporating many of the concept ideas that were co-created in the workshops.

Process

I joined the team for analysis just as they returned to the design studio from fieldwork.

I quickly got up to speed by immersing myself in the notes, photos and videos taken. As a group, we coded and affinity sorted the data collected into themes.

I complied a set of 8 case studies based on those displaying particular unmet needs when accessing healthcare. I then created customer journey maps for each case.

These maps highlighted problematic steps in the healthcare journey for the elderly citizens.

I collected weekly feedback from the client to iterate and improve the maps.

In two multi-day, large-scale design workshops, I worked with the client to introduce the challenges participants face on a daily basis to private and public sector stakeholders.

The themes, case studies and customer journey maps were essential tools for story-telling, helping the stakeholders empathise with the needs of elderly citizens and understand their environmental constraints. 

Using various ideation exercises and worksheets, I facilitated groups to develop a number of service concepts that would suit the unique characteristics of Singapore.