HealthConnect
Project Overview
"HealthConnect - Easy care, anywhere" is a concept mobile application designed to bridge the healthcare gap for senior citizens in the bustling environment of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Recognizing the challenges faced by the elderly in accessing timely medical care – from mobility issues to navigating complex hospital systems and technology hurdles – this telehealth app provides a user-friendly platform for booking appointments, conducting video consultations, and chatting directly with qualified, trusted doctors. The core goal is to make healthcare more accessible, convenient, and less intimidating for our seniors.
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My Role: UX/UI Designer
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Responsibilities: User Research, Persona Creation, User Flow Mapping, Wireframing, UI Design, Prototyping, Usability Testing
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Tools Used: Figma, FigJam, Pen & Paper.
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Timeline: 1 week
The Challenge - Healthcare Barriers for Seniors in HCMC
Ho Chi Minh City presents unique challenges for its senior population seeking healthcare:
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Mobility & Transportation: Navigating traffic, crowded public transport, or arranging private transport to clinics/hospitals can be physically demanding and stressful.
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Long Wait Times: Public hospitals and popular clinics often have lengthy queues and complex procedures.
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Technology Hesitancy: While smartphone adoption is increasing, many seniors lack confidence or familiarity with complex apps, especially for sensitive tasks like healthcare.
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Need for Trust: Seniors often prefer established relationships and need clear assurance about the qualifications and trustworthiness of doctors, particularly in a remote setting.
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Language & Clarity: Interfaces need to be in clear, simple Vietnamese with intuitive navigation.
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The core challenge was: How might we design a mobile telehealth experience that seniors in HCMC find trustworthy, easy-to-use, and genuinely helpful for managing their health?
Understanding the User
Through secondary research on digital literacy in Vietnam, I identified key characteristics and needs:
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Varying Tech Savviness: From complete novices to moderately comfortable users (often using Zalo, basic Browse). Caregiver support is common.
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Prioritizing Trust: Emphasis on doctor credentials, clear communication, and secure platforms. Recommendations from family/friends are valued.
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Visual & Motor Needs: Requirement for larger font sizes, high contrast, clear buttons, and simple gestures.
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Task-Oriented: Prefer straightforward processes to achieve a specific goal (book appointment, talk to doctor) without unnecessary distractions.
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Payment Preferences: Need for familiar and simple payment options (as discussed previously: QR Codes, Cards, Pay-at-Clinic).
The Design Process
I followed a user-centered design process:
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Empathize: Conducted research to understand senior needs and challenges deeply.
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Define: Synthesized research into key insights, personas, and defined the core problem.
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Ideate: Brainstormed solutions, mapped user flows for key tasks (booking, video call, chat), created low-fidelity wireframes.
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Prototype: Developed interactive prototypes in Figma for key user journeys.
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Design: Complete high-fidelity design screens from previous steps.
Key Design Decisions & Features
Based on research and testing, we focused on simplicity, clarity, and trust:
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Simplified Navigation: A clear bottom navigation bar with large icons for core sections (Home, Appointments, Doctors, Messages).
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Streamlined Booking: A step-by-step process with minimal fields, large calendar dates/times, clear confirmation screens. Doctor profiles prominently display qualifications, experience, and location (HCMC).
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Accessible Video Calls: Large, clearly labeled buttons for Mute, Camera On/Off, End Call. Stable connection indicators.
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Straightforward Chat: Familiar chat interface similar to popular apps like Zalo, with options for sending text and photos (e.g., prescriptions, skin conditions). Clear distinction between messages from doctors and system notifications.
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Trust & Credibility: Detailed doctor profiles, clear display of consultation fees, secure login, and accessible support information.
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Senior-Friendly UI:
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Color Palette: Utilized a palette, ensuring high contrast ratios (WCAG AA compliant) for excellent readability.
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Typography: Employed large (minimum 14pt for body), clear, sans-serif Vietnamese fonts (e.g., Inter, Be Vietnam Pro, Public Sans).
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Large Tap Targets: Buttons and interactive elements are adequately sized and spaced to prevent accidental taps.
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User Flow
Through research on personas and an understanding of user needs, desires, and pain points, along with project goals, several ideas were developed. Below is a rough drawing of the user flow.
Wireframes
Quickly create sketches while testing the prototype to evaluate the experience. Due to time and resource constraints, this is a self-tested sketching step; the final drawings will be refined later.
Design prototype
Take a look at the high-quality design and interactive prototype below for an optimal experience.
Outcomes & Reflection
While this is a concept project, "HealthConnect - Easy care, anywhere" demonstrates a viable solution to improve healthcare accessibility for a vulnerable population in HCMC. The design prioritizes ease-of-use and trust, addressing key barriers seniors face with technology and traditional healthcare access.
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Key Learnings: The critical importance of direct user research with the target demographic, the necessity of iterative design based on feedback, and the non-negotiable requirement for accessibility features when designing for seniors.
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Next Steps: Further refinement of the user onboarding process, exploring integration with local pharmacies for prescription delivery, and potentially adding features for caregiver accounts.
Designing for seniors requires empathy, patience, and a commitment to simplicity. This project reinforced my passion for creating technology that empowers all users, regardless of age or technical ability.
