DANNIELLE TARLINTON
AUXILIO
GROUP PROJECT
To design a new product or service to provide improved mental health care for patients undergoing therapy.
8 WEEKS
THE PROBLEM
Psychotherapists need to provide appropriate professional support to patients suffering with mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression. For Psychotherapists to effectively deliver patient care, they need to have the ability to build trust and alliances with their patients, provide flexible treatment plans, monitor patient progress, and be aware of a client’s characteristics in context. Often, the stigma surrounding mental illness makes it hard for patients to seek assistance from psychotherapists, as well as their friends and family. A patient can also struggle to integrate these intervention programs within the schedule, often unable to discuss this with their psychologist until their session time. Therefore, there is a need for a platform that enables psychotherapists to establish a support network, effective communication, and opportunities for reflection to patients to make sure they are providing an effective intervention program.
THE SOLUTION
Auxilio combines an app and a clip-on wearable to primarily aid psychologists in monitoring their patients so they can better understand how they respond to treatment. The app serves as a platform to track patient mental wellbeing and establish a support network whereas the clip-on assists in recording physical activity. These products work together to form The Auxilio Mental Health System.
This system can be adapted to suit the needs of the users: psychologists and patients. This can improve the availability and quality of mental health treatment, provide on-going support, allow for more efficient use of session time, potential to engage people who would otherwise not seek help, provide customisation, improve communication, and make therapy more comfortable. Therefore, Auxilio’s ultimate aim is to make sure psychologists provide the most effective treatment and patients have access to it.
THE WEARABLE
The Auxilio wearable is a clip on that assists in monitoring the physical activity of the user. It is capable of tracking steps, heart rate and sleep activity where the data is then displayed on the Auxilio app. The user’s psychologist will also have access to this data, so they are provided with more information to track their patients’ recovery progress.
THE APP
The Auxilio app is a platform where users can connect, reflect and monitor their mental and physical well being. It is a service that helps create a support network connecting patients, family and friends, and psychologists through a live chat. Users can enter their moods in the diary section providing a space for reflection. It is also where data from the wearable is located so users can easily monitor their physical well being.
THE KEY BENEFITS
CONNECTION
The chat service is a place where patients can contact their psychologist if they feel that they require support. Family and friends of the patient also have access to the app, which periodically notifies them about the patients progress and provides information on anxiety and depression through the chat service, thereby creating a communication network to increase the awareness of these mental illnesses.
MONITORING
The health section is where all the data on the user’s physical health tracked by the wearable is located. This information will also be accessible to the patient’s psychologist to assist them in understanding their patient’s progression in their recovery of anxiety or depression.
REFLECTION
The diary component functions as a means for patients to record their mood using emoji reactions and to note down their daily activities. This enables them to reflect on their day. If there is a negative trend on a patient’s mood, it will suggest some coping strategies, promote the chat feature, or advise them to schedule an appointment with their psychologist.
MAIN FEATURES
CHAT WITH PATIENTS
Many Psychologists cannot currently chat with their patients outside of session times. Therefore, Auxilio provides a platform where psychologists can not only chat with patients if they need immediate support, but can also reach out to their friends and family if required. This is designed to create a support network, ensuring that the patient always feels as though they are able to talk to someone about how they are doing.
ANALYSE MOOD
Psychologists can now have access to how the patient is feeling between sessions. They can track the patients mood, making sure that their patients are improving. If not, they can modify the program or reach out to the patients to discuss their negative mood. This feature is hugely important as patients currently only have the opportunity to present their experience of the week during sessions. This service now provides an overview, now making more time for discussion and reflection during the session time.
MONITOR HEART RATE
The heart rate of the patient is monitored using the wearable device. This keeps track of resting heart rate, heart rate levels when working out, and heart rate spikes when the patients becomes anxious.
TRACK EXERCISE
Exercise is an important part of mental wellbeing programs. Even just getting outside and going for a short walk can drastically improve mental wellbeing. Psychologists can now keep track of their patients physical activity. The number of steps patients take per day are tracked using the system. The psychologist can monitor their exercise and work to improve more physical activity into their lives
OBSERVE SLEEP CYCLES
Sleep is a vital part of wellbeing. Psychologists can now monitor patient’s sleep patterns and work towards improving this fundamental health need. It is important that patients get a good sleep, as improving sleep patterns is one of the first steps to improving mental health.
PERSONAS
A personas were created to identify potential users of the system. One was created for a psychologist that could improve their talk therapy by incorporating the system. Two more were created for two potential patients that may be undergoing therapy and could benefit from being able to track their progress throughout their therapy.
JOURNEY MAPS
Journey maps were used to outline the current process of therapy. One was created to demonstrate the pain points based on the needs of the psychologist and another was created for the patient experience. The final journey map shows the improvements from their current experiences with providing or receiving therapy, to how this could be improved when the system is implemented.
VALUE PROPOSITION
A value proposition canvas is a useful tool to demonstrate how the product or system can be beneficial to potential users or stakeholders. The below canvas outlines how the Auxilio system prove useful in improving the process of providing and undergoing therapy for generalised anxiety and depression.
PROJECT REFLECTION
This project gave us the opportunity to develop a new product and learn about the business process behind it. It was invaluable to intertwine the theories and process of new product development into the design process. The focus of this project was more on the how the product and system positioned itself within the new product development process. Secondly, the project focussed on how what we designed could be valuable to users and stakeholders. Therefore, showcased alongside the designed products and service are important considerations such as personas, journey maps and a value proposition. A business case was also presented which can be viewed below.