Redesigning treatment for eating disorders
Product and service design for Cold Start
This case features design of the experience of one of the Cold Start ventures portfolio companies. We wanted to tackle the problem of insufficient support to the eating disorder patients and design a product that will help them fight their disorder. My core input focus lied in the area of user research, product strategy and collaboration facilitation.
My Role
Product Designer
Input
User Research
Team collaboration
Product Strategy
UI & UX Design
Industry
B2C Health tech
Date
2021
CHALLENGE
A treatment program that helps holistically
Eating disorders, often overlooked by healthcare professionals, have unique challenges, including stigma, co-existing conditions, and gender-specific barriers. Our mission was to create a patient-centered, empathetic, and effective treatment program that addressed these complexities.
TL;DR
- I focused mainly on the research, treatment program ideation and collaborated with UI/UX designers working sync;
- Integrated design thinking for improved collaboration within a team;
- Created a product strategy for a solution that helps people with eating disorders become healthy 0->1.
RESEARCH INSIGHTS
"I am to blame for my flaw. Or, wait… Am I to blame myself?"
Mental health specialists often do not pay enough attention to eating disorders, and often these conditions are not cured. Even more, when therapists identify eating disorder, they often blame a patient not having enough power of will instead of offering them support and care.
Suffering alone
Stigma, especially among males, hindered timely interventions. Patients often suffered in silence due to the fear of judgment from friends, family, and healthcare professionals. Often they didn't know that the disorder can or should be cured.
It’s not just one disorder
Immune system & physical conditions can lead to unhealthy relationship with food. Some patients started binge eating as the result of other co-existing medical conditions such as Thyroid issues and other autoimmune diseases. Ignoring these issues and treating only eating disorder would not be effective.
IDEATION
Crafting the best healthcare solution together
My focus lied on deep user research, ideation and collaboration with the internal teams.
I leveraged different techniques such as HMW exercises, co-creation sessions to shape a solution that will effectively support and guide patients on their journey towards healthy eating habits.
Snapshot of our Figjam board used during collaborative session
SHAPING THE PRODUCT
Respect as core principle
Our goal was to create an empathetic team of clinicians who understand that eating disorders are real conditions that should be treated. This principle was used to shape our hiring processes.
The perfect combination of features
We went wide and created a few treatment program versions in collaboration with the clinicians. Then we tested these with the users to find the perfect mixture: optional group therapy, deep 1:1 sessions, a support group of doctors and 24/7 emergency help.
Team of different professionals
We made sure that different specialists are part of the care team: both physical and mental therapists, including thyroid specialists and gynaecologists. If a patient needs, they will get access to holistic case embracing all nuances of their case.
To help the team embrace the complexity of a patient's journey, empathise and create a better service, I created user journey map and other research materials
DESIGN EXPLORATION
Mapping a new eating disorder service
I led the collaboration with our internal clinical team to develop comprehensive flows for the eating disorder program which included processes for operations, finance and treatment teams.
A short overview of our processes covering steps from the initial request from a client to successful discharge from the program
Guerilla and multivariant testing
Having defined the main possible product versions including different sets of features, we dived into guerilla and multivariant testing. As a result, we defined the optimal program: a combination of optional community meetings, personalised support and regular therapy sessions.
No patient left behind
We offered different levels of treatment depending on the clinical requirements and needs of the patient – for patients with serious disorders we offered hybrid treatment with outpatient facilities (in partnerships with trusted providers), for others – online programs with or without medications.
Self-serve onboarding allowed us start treatment asap
We managed to save time of our intake specialists during the first sessions using online forms covering core clinical questions. Intake forms were created in collaboration with the clinical team.
Autonomous provider selection and booking management
Self-serve choosing and booking of the therapists and other specialists on the platform allowed us to streamline and speed up the process.
Impact
- time from request till first paid session decreased,
- successful appointments a day increased;
- increased efficiency and lowered workload of the internal team.
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