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ROLE

UX Researcher

UX Designer

Co-Author

Inclusive Telehealth

Designing the telehealth experience for mature first-generation immigrants

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TEAM

Sharon Byun

Sheila Villalobos

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TYPE & TIMELINE

Independent Study

4 weeks

TOOLS

Figma

Procreate

Zoom

Current Landscape

The pandemic only worsened the digital divide.

When doctor visits moved online, people like our parents, with low digital skills and low access to the internet and/or devices, were left vulnerable. Many children of immigrants found ourselves calling and driving back and forth to our parents' homes to be interpreters and tech support.

Problem

People like our parents are not even considered in the telehealth design process.

After speaking to telehealth design stakeholders (who wished to remain anonymous), it was no longer an assumption. It was reality.

Our Goal

Empower our parents to manage Telehealth on their own.

We set out to tackle the current state of Telehealth for mature first-generation immigrants. Our ultimate goal was to empower our parents, and many others in similar circumstances, to manage Telehealth on their own.

Opportunity

If you design for our parents, you solve for a million others.

With more patients having access to effective telehealth, doctors can improve productivity, reduce administrative costs, and reduce burnout.

Solution

Influence telehealth designers to be the catalyst for the change by making it easy.

We solved for the five main barriers first-generation immigrants faced during telehealth visits and created a guide with templates that was published on Bootcamp, a product design publication on Medium, and on Figma.

UX Research Discovery

After speaking to telehealth design stakeholders (who wished to remain anonymous), the results were clear: People like our parents are not even considered in the Telehealth process.

In fact, they have been:

Excluded

"I was asked to explicitly exclude people with accents for our screener survey because it was hard to understand them.”

— UX Researcher at major health insurance company

Stereotyped

"If they are immigrants then they must be uninsured.”

— Designer at an agency

Not Prioritized

“We focus on physician needs."

— User Insights Researcher at leading telehealth platform

From our user and telehealth stakeholder interviews, research paper reviews, and assessment of current telehealth apps, we created personas and mapped the patient journey.

How this works

We identified 5 main barriers

Creating a seamless telehealth experience for mature, first-generation immigrants creates a curb-cut effect that solves for other overlooked populations. Here’s a simple guide, with prototypes, to make it easy for designers to get started.

Access the Figma Starter Kit here.

THE NEW SIMPLIFIED FLOW

Solving for low digital literacy

Attending a telehealth visit currently involves multiple steps, from having to log into an email in order to log into a dashboard, to sometimes even having to download an app. That’s up to six steps and three applications before someone can see their doctor. A simple solution is to provide a mobile option, the most popular device for this user, and include the one-click link right in a text message — no additional sign-in needed.

Prioritizing mobile and reducing the steps to access the televisit.

mockups of screens showcasing current flow and recommended flow

2. LANGUAGE TOGGLE FEATURE

Solving for language barriers

Currently, few telehealth apps have translation features, and if they do, the translations can be difficult to understand because they use technical language. In addition to using plain language, providing a language toggle with plain text language is a simple solution. If no interpreter is available during the call, a translation API, like Google’s, can be connected so that the doctor and patient can have a seamless conversation.

See it in action here.

Provide language options to choose from upfront. Live captions during the video chat

mockups of screens pointing out touchpoint for translation function

3. SMALL UI DECISIONS

Solving for distrust

Because these users are often overlooked in the healthcare system, they are wary of the healthcare system. Adding various markers to build trust can be as simple as providing the doctor’s image, credentials, and information about their practice.

Show the doctor’s credibility / information.

4. ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS FEATURE

Solving for low data / wifi access

Video calls take up a lot of data, and many of these users may not have access to wifi or an unlimited data plan. To solve this issue, VCU Health provides patients with tablets with wifi air cards to monitor their health. For providers that don’t have that luxury, the telehealth platform can automatically identify a low connection and offer an alternative, like an audio or text call with image upload functionality (see it in action here). If the call is lost, an automatic text can be sent to let the patient know that they can reschedule or resume connection via an audio call.

phone mockups of alternative low-date options for Telehealth experience

Provide an alternative for those with low-data.

5. THE LOVED ONE’S FEATURE

Solving for the participation of a third person on the call

Currently, most telehealth apps only allow the doctor and the patient to attend. Yet non-English speaking patients frequently require translation and interpretation support during appointments. They may turn to members of their family, medical interpreters, and medical students or staff. The option to add more than two people to a call could be facilitated right from the page.

Providing an option for a loved one or helper to join remotely.

Why this works

Creating a Curb-Cut Effect

The curb-cut effect refers to the fact that designs created to benefit people with disabilities often end up benefiting a much larger user group. The term comes from the curb cut added in 1945 to help make sidewalks accessible to wheelchair users.

The digital divide doesn’t just affect immigrants.

Many of those living in rural areas are also impacted. Rural Americans are 10 times more likely to lack broadband access than their urban counterparts.

User Feedback

We gathered all these features into a prototype and shared it with our parents to test. The results? See for yourself. ➡️

persona #2: low-income mature rural resident

“I feel like I can manage this on my own rather than have to wait for Gaby to come to visit again to help me.”

— Daysi T.

“It’s so easy I feel like I barely did anything.”

— Ximena V.

The Results

2 Ted Talk Presentations.

400+ Figma Kit Downloads.

200+ Article Views.

Reflections

Inclusive Telehealth was inspired by my team’s love for our immigrant parents and difficult telehealth experiences. We were able create a call to action and set-up future designers and researchers in this field with a solution that is meaningful and authentic to a community that is often overlooked.

This project brought me a lot of joy and a sense of purpose because not only was it both fulfilling and fun, it gave me an opportunity to conduct UX Research and be my authentic self through my work.

I thoroughly loved using inclusive research and design to solve a unique problem close to our hearts. This project is a practical and impactful love letter to all mature immigrant individuals.

Want to know more? Read our article and check out out Figma Starter Kit!