Other projects
Design Process
Problem
In this project, we tackled the underrepresentation of racial and ethnic communities in Clinical Trials (CTs). Ensuring equity is crucial, as an imbalance can result in no efficacy of drugs against specific communities.
Client
Cedars-Sinai
Duration
14 weeks
Sep. - Dec. 2022
Contribution
Me: UI/UX, Web Design, Video Production
Cindy: Posters, Flyers, Pins
Lillian: Information booth, Logo
Empower Healthcare Providers to Communicate about Clinical Trials to Diverse Patients
Home Page (Gateways)
Home page function as a gateway to main pages of this website, which are "ClinIcal Trials News" and "Community Guide".
Clinical Trials News Page
This page highlights disparities in clinical trials and why diversity matters in clinical trials.
Community Guide Page
"Community Guide page" highlights the most common concerns or barriers in specific communities. This helps healthcare providers build better relationships with their diverse patients.
Sitemap
Initial Research (Targeting Diverse Patients)
To get started, we had interviews with stakeholders and learned the disparity in clinical trials. We were told to research how we could design culturally appropriate messages(campaigns) towards underrepresented communities, so we did campaign audits to learn how we could approach.
This project was my first time working closely with a client, which truly challenged me as clinical trials are such a broad topic and there were a lot of uncertainties. Unlike other projects, I learned many insights from the research teams at Cedars-Sinai and UCI, and from the healthcare providers. So, more or less there were some biases, which I couldn’t realize at first.
They all were thinking how design could influence patients in underrepresented communities. However, by analyzing and understanding current situations using '5 Whys' method, I could identify that changing doctors' behavior would make a significant impact. This insight led me to believe that if we could increase healthcare providers' awareness of diversity in clinical trials, then it would increase patients’ awareness too, which received great feedback from Cedars-Sinai.
I was so glad to work on this such an important problem and contribute to it. Collaborating with a diverse team of designers and professionals from Cedars-Sinai, I gained valuable insights into the unique approaches individuals take when faced with the same problem. This experience reminded me of the importance of UX designers serving as user advocates and facilitating conversations.
Reflection
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Community Outreach and Engagement Team at Cedars-Sinai
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Dr. Ghecemy Lopez at Cedars-Sinai
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Linda Pura, a registered nurse, cancer survivor and representative for L.A. chapter of Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure
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Cevadne Lee & Roselyn Balayut Tanghal at UCI Comprehensive Cancer Center
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Koryo Health Foundation Clinic (Site Visit)
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ArtCenter College of Design's DesignMatters Program
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Amazing Instructors, Monica Schlaug, Nidhi, and Vaishnavi Prabhakaran(TA)
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My teammates: Cindy Chu, Lillian Yian Lin
Special Thanks
1. Lack of awareness among patients
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Patients have never heard of clinical trials.
"Nobody’s ever mentioned clinical trials to me." -
Patients have to be assertive and proactive to know about clinical trials.
2. Current situation
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77% of past participants learned about clinical trial opportunities through primary healthcare providers.
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Primary providers don't inform their diverse patients about clinical trials.
How Might We
utilize primary providers to inform diverse patients about clinical trials to increase awareness and diversity in participation?
1. Lack of awareness among providers
Primary providers themselves are not aware of the issue of diversity challenges in clinical trials.
2. Hesitation due to patient mistrust
Aware of historical abuses that lead to patients’ mistrust of clinical trials, primary providers are uncertain about how to approach discussions with diverse groups.
After review sessions with the stakeholders, we learned that it's really important for healthcare providers to understand cultural needs and barriers when it comes to seeing patients from underrepresented communities as they help to build relationship and trust with their patients.
Persona - Eric (Oncologist)
What's Stopping Primary Providers?
" I'm not comfortable explaining clinical trials to diverse patients. "
Goal:
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To feel comfortable working with diverse patients
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To feel confident mentioning / explaining clinical trials to diverse patients
Since he is busy, he can’t keep himself updated with all the Clinical Trials information. And he’s not familiar with cultural differences and needs in diverse communities.
Design Goal
Design a web platform where healthcare providers learn about the importance of diversity in clinical trials and underrepresented communities.
Design Iteration - I
Testing the wireframes with healthcare providers through surveys, I uncovered the insight that they had a hard time understanding what this website was all about. So, I made these changes:
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Added a clear hero section which explains this platform.
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Changed the labels in the navigation of the 2 main pages to better communicate the ideas of them.
Visual / Identity
Wireframing
After the initial sketches, I landed on these 2 wireframes. Through discussions with stakeholders and doctors, I chose variation 2 because of these reasons:
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To clearly communicate 2 main components of this platform: “CT Education” & “Community Education”.
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To show “Myths and Facts” about clinical trials upfront because of high needs among doctors.
Outcomes (Success Metrics)
Design Iteration - II
In the 2nd round of testing, I observed that participants had difficulty processing the contents due to the rigid, grid-based design. To address this, I shifted to a more editorial design, enhancing both engagement and ease of comprehension for viewers.
9/10
10/10
10/10
10/10
Successfully navigated through the pages
Understood the concept of this website
Found this website useful
Felt informed and engaged
After a few rounds of design iterations, I defined a set of metrics to measure the outcomes of my design during the last round of testing. Total number of participants was 10.
Feedback
" Hit it on the nail. Found exactly the right answer. We see big gap area with doctors not talking about clinical trials with patients, especially oncologists. "
Zul Surani
Associate Director of COE at Cedars-Sinai
" I like the concept. Promotoras can also use this tool. We hope doctors at least don't just refer the patients, but to tell them, here are some questions that you can ask to oncologists. "
Dr. Ghecemy Lopez
Physician at Cedars-Sinai
" Kudos. What a logical strategic, great structure. It's really about relationship, advocate. So, once you look at that, you will go deeper and have richer messaging. "
Cevadne Lee
Director at UCI Cancer Center
Marketing Collaterals
As a new concept, I saw the need for marketing materials to introduce the platform and campaign. I identified key deliverables from provider and patient journeys, collaborating with a graphic and product designer for execution.
Final Design
User Journey
Oncologists are unaware of
clinical trial disparities
Oncologists' lack of understanding
of diverse patients
Clinical Trials Related Education
Community Related Education
Understanding Problem Space
We did interviews with Cedars-Sinai and healthcare providers. Our goal was to understand experience and perspectives of both patients and providers towards the problem.
Ideation (Choosing Main Components)
. Solution
A website which educates healthcare providers about the importance of diversity in clinical trials and cultural needs, helping them engage with diverse patients and communicate clinical trial opportunities effectively.