icare
App for encouragement self-care among family caregivers of the third age
App for encouragement self-care among family caregivers of the third age
The project was the final project of the Bachelor's degree in Communication at Reichman University in collaboration with milab laboratory.
The problem
How can we help informal caregivers with the need for social self-care alongside caring for their spouse?
How can we help informal caregivers with the need for social self-care alongside caring for their spouse?
App for encouragement self-care among family caregivers of the third age
App for encouragement self-care among family caregivers of the third age
The Solution
3 UX designers
2 Psychologyst
UX designer
UI designer
UX research
After drawing conclusions and investigating psychological literature on the subject, we found the solution we chose to test among the target population
an application that aims to provide informal caregivers of older adults, who care for their spouses, with self-care activities at a time that suits them.
This is to promote their self-care, reduce perceived burden, and improve their mental well-being.
In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of family caregivers who are elderly. These caregivers encounter many challenges that lead to a deterioration in their physical and mental health. Their constant preoccupation with the well-being of others causes them to forget about self-care and abandon essential needs for their age, such as social involvement and support, health, and leisure activities.
background
After researching and finding the main problems prevalent among this population, we set out to investigate the characteristics of this target audience to focus the solution for them.
We conducted interviews with 5 users in our target audience and 5 professionals who care for and understand the target audience (such as social workers, psychologists, and nursing home workers). In the interviews, we found problems, challenges, and pain points among potential users of our app.
After drawing conclusions and investigating psychological literature on the subject, we found the solution we chose to test among the target population
an application that aims to provide informal caregivers of older adults, who care for their spouses, with self-care activities at a time that suits them.
This is to promote their self-care, reduce perceived burden, and improve their mental well-being.
After further in-depth research, we began to create initial sketches for our application. We chose to create several screens in accordance with the psychological theory that accompanied our research. We chose to focus on seven main screens:
Home screen - the main screen that displays a motivational statement and previous activities that the user chose to perform.
The screen of activities that the user performed yesterday - to provide us with feedback on the activities that the user performed
The emotions screen - to measurably check the effects of the activities
The screens of new activities for today - the screen of selecting the time window, the screen of selecting activities from existing options, the confirmation screen and the progress screen for receiving personal motivation
We conducted a round of testing every week to improve and refine our app so that it would be ready for the Maze trial round.
The main conclusions from the user tests were:
Enlarge the text and buttons on all screens
Center the sentences and content to the center of the screen
Adjust the activities in a personal way (personalized) to the users
Shorter sentences
Dividing into categories of activity types (to be clearer)
The explanations about the activities were good
The progress of the happiness index was good according to the users, but they did not like the name
Personas
Users challenges
The solution we chose for the app
Wireframes
Usability Testing
Throughout the initiative, I gained considerable knowledge on profiling interfaces aimed at vulnerable demographics, specifically seniors. I acquired skills in identifying and tactfully handling intricate matters, and in profiling in line with complex psychological concepts. The project enhanced my collaboration abilities significantly and I am immensely satisfied with the undertaking I accomplished.
Learnings
Thank you for reading my case study!
For more work inquiries or to grab a ☕️, let's connect! Noyakuper@gmail.com
We conducted a round of testing every week to improve and refine our app so that it would be ready for the Maze trial round.
The main conclusions from the user tests were:
Enlarge the text and buttons on all screens
Center the sentences and content to the center of the screen
Adjust the activities in a personal way (personalized) to the users
Shorter sentences
Dividing into categories of activity types (to be clearer)
The explanations about the activities were good
The progress of the happiness index was good according to the users, but they did not like the name
After researching and finding the main problems prevalent among this population, we set out to investigate the characteristics of this target audience to focus the solution for them.
We conducted interviews with 5 users in our target audience and 5 professionals who care for and understand the target audience (such as social workers, psychologists, and nursing home workers). In the interviews, we found problems, challenges, and pain points among potential users of our app.
Throughout the initiative, I gained considerable knowledge on profiling interfaces aimed at vulnerable demographics, specifically seniors. I acquired skills in identifying and tactfully handling intricate matters, and in profiling in line with complex psychological concepts. The project enhanced my collaboration abilities significantly and I am immensely satisfied with the undertaking I accomplished.
Learnings
Once the amendments were finalized, we initiated the investigation employing the labyrinth instrument. Eight participants were involved in the research, segregated into a test group and a benchmark group. The unique aspect was, the test group obtained resources for facilitating self-care practices. Along with the introduction of self-care philosophy and concept, the benchmark group merely received the theory and idea of self-care, devoid of any concrete tools for practical implementation. The participants interacted with the application twice a day, consistently throughout the week
The Maze trial round
Once the amendments were finalized, we initiated the investigation employing the labyrinth instrument. Eight participants were involved in the research, segregated into a test group and a benchmark group. The unique aspect was, the test group obtained resources for facilitating self-care practices. Along with the introduction of self-care philosophy and concept, the benchmark group merely received the theory and idea of self-care, devoid of any concrete tools for practical implementation. The participants interacted with the application twice a day, consistently throughout the week
The study findings showed that using an app that includes practical tools and theory increased mental well-being and significantly reduced the caregiver's burden in just one week!
Findings
The final app
Thank you for reading my case study!
For more work inquiries or to grab a ☕️, let's connect! Noyakuper@gmail.com
