Nutrition App for Cancer Patients
MyDish
Project Overview
Competitive AnalysisUser InterviewsUser Journey Maps
Personas
Story Boarding
Paper WireframesLo-Fi Wireframes
Design System
Hi-Fi Prototype
The Problem
Communication between a patient and their healthcare team is vital for proper cancer treatment. It’s common for a patient’s regimen or medication to change throughout their care. This can be difficult to keep up with possible side effects and remembering important information with “chemo brain”.
The Goal
How might we develope an app that provides nutrition communication for cancer patients, and a way to relay important information when they go to their chemo appointments (side effects + food intake)?
Roles
UX researcher and UX/UI designer
Duration
8 weeks
Programs
Design Process
User research
Competitive audit
Personas
Empathy Map
Journey Map
Define User Pain Points
Problem statement
Define
Research
Design
Ideate
Digital wireframes
Lo-fi mock-up
Hi-fi mock-up
Sketching
User flow chart
Paper Wireframes
Cancer & Treatments
Chemotherapy
Medications or drugs employed in cancer treatment. Traditional or standard chemotherapy involves the use of cytotoxic drugs, which have the ability to destroy tumor cells.
Targeted Treatment
Targeted therapy is a precise form of cancer treatment that utilizes drugs or other substances to specifically identify and target certain types of cancer cells.
Radiation Therapy
Involves the use of high-energy particles or waves, such as x-rays, gamma rays, electron beams, or protons, to destroy or impair cancer cells by creating small breaks in their DNA.
What is Remote Patient Monitoring?
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Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) for cancer patients encompasses the monitoring of various vital signs, including weight, blood pressure, blood oxygen, and blood glucose levels. These essential metrics can be measured using provided medical equipment or even through mobile applications and standard in-home equipment.
RPM for Cancer Patients
Patient monitoring for chronic illnesses within their own home
Living With
Cancer Support app to enhance communication with family and friends of cancer patients. It stores test results and notes, facilitating improved communication between appointments by helping patients keep track of their questions.
Chemo Brain
Patients can efficiently manage their medical journey by using the app to jot down reminders for medications, appointments, and questions for the doctor, along with recording thoughts on side-effects.
Plate Joy
This app offers personalized meal plans designed by professional chefs and nutritionists, tailored to your preferences and needs, accompanied by grocery lists generated from a lifestyle quiz.
MyFitnessPal
This app boasts an extensive food database, a barcode scanner, a recipe importer, a restaurant logger, food analytics, and a calorie counter.
Oncology Nurse Interview Highlights
During a one-hour phone interview, I spoke with an Oncology Nurse with 32 years of experience, who currently specializes in cancer survivorship. Her expertise lies in assisting newly diagnosed patients in navigating through the various departments at her healthcare office during cancer treatment.
Key Takeaways
Changing Regimen
Various chemotherapy drugs and regimens elicit distinct side effects (SE). These regimens may be altered if the response is not prompt enough or if only a partial response in patient’s recovery.
Communication Flow
Additionally, she provided insights into the overall communication process during a chemotherapy appointment, emphasizing each touch point. A breakdown of the flow is illustrated below.
Current Communication Flow
Standard Chemotherapy Appointment
3. Nurse
Patient meets with a nurse again to receive chemo treatment and final once over of how they feel. If needed the patient will meet with the in-house dietitian.
4. Dietitian
The patient discusses their current diet and side effects. Based on what the patient is able to remember, a new diet is created to aid in nutrition.
2. Doctor
Patient then meets with the doctor to discuss current side effects and see if chemo will be ordered that day along with any new medications. If cleared, chemo therapy continues.
1. Nurse
Patient comes into their appointment and meets with a nurse for general physical and to discuss overall health.
User Pain Points
Reliance of Patient Memory
Patients are currently reliant on their memory or any written notes to convey essential information during appointments, including medication details.
No Feedback Loop
The current communication system is one-way, primarily occurring only during appointments, lacking a continuous feedback loop between patients and healthcare workers.
Delayed Medical Communication
Under the current system, patients may encounter delayed or incorrect medical information, and even within the patient's healthcare team, there can be delays as information is handed off between up to three individuals.
Ideation Matrix
To address communication challenges in healthcare, an ideation matrix was created. It focused on establishing direct communication channels between the oncology team and the patient, covering four areas: medication, side effects, lifestyle management, in either an analog, digital, or hybrid format.
The chosen solution was an app that syncs with the patient's records, providing comprehensive communication for all people within the patients ecosystem.
Paper Sketches
Initial paper sketches depict potential app pages and features such as medication information, a community tab, a food log, a side effects log, recommended recipes, and nutrition goals.
The user flow follows the typical journey of nutrition and tracking apps, enabling users to quickly learn and navigate the app. Users can track their food and medication intake, and seek support from the cancer patient community through recommendations and Q&A sections.
Digital Wireframes
Digital wireframes were developed to visualize the app's user interface and map out the user experience. These wireframes utilized a basic color scheme and simple button representations, serving as the foundation for the final wireframes.
MyDish Branding
MyDish's branding focuses on clean and vibrant colors that convey a sense of health, aligning with other nutrition-related apps. This approach makes the app more user-friendly and maintains a fresh and modern appearance. The logo incorporates a plate with a cancer ribbon, symbolizing the connection between cancer survivors and food/nutrition.
Home Screen
The home screen displays current nutrition goals, recently logged meals and snacks, the medication regimen, and upcoming appointments. Users can customize the sections and widgets according to their preferences.
New (Food) Log Entry
Creating new entries is made efficient with pre-filled sections that can be edited. These sections include date, time, location, and the dish. Users can also add details about hunger level, feelings, and even a photo of the dish.
Recipes
Users can access a variety of preloaded and user-shared recipes tailored for cancer patients. These recipes assist in achieving specific nutrition goals and managing medication side effects. The tab displays recommended dishes and snacks, and users can search for recipes based on dish type or specific side effects.
Food Logs
Daily logs provide monthly, weekly, and daily overviews, allowing users to access their food and side effect logs. Users can also add upcoming chemotherapy appointments and medication reminders.
App Click Through
The final app can be accessed through this link or the QR code can be scanned to be accessed on your phone.
What was improved?
Less Reliance on Patient Memory
MyDish enables patients to track their side effects and serves as a valuable resource and reference during appointments, reducing the reliance on patient memory.
Feedback Loop
MyDish facilitates real-time feedback from the healthcare team, establishing a two-way communication system that completes the feedback loop, which was previously one-way.
Community Building
The community tab in MyDish fosters a sense of community, allowing users to share their recipes to combat side effects and seek advice from other chemo patients about their experiences.
Appointment Info Automatically Updating
MyDish ensures that patients have access to automatically updated nutritional goals and medication regimens after each appointment.
Current Status
MyDish is currently undergoing a rebranding process to align with UNC branding standards in their MyChart system. This seamless transition will enable the app to integrate more effectively for patients as an addition to MyChart.
Next Steps
Update Branding
Complete the branding update of MyDish in alignment with UNC branding guidelines.
User Testing
Conduct further user testing based on the current wireframes to address any potential issues before proceeding with the UNC branding.
Tablet Mock-Up
Develop a tablet app mock-up to enhance accessibility on various devices.
Accessibility Testing
Conduct usability testing on color contrast and text weight/size to ensure compliance with standard requirements.