Advocate Tablet
An advocate for older adults in the doctor's office
Problem
There is a disconnect between older adults and healthcare providers put in place by communication barriers such as hearing loss, the shift to online platforms, and difficulty conveying needs between patient and doctor. The absence of a user-friendly product/service often leads to older adults feeling both frustrated and isolated.
"Increasing age is one of the strongest correlates of low health literacy... the physical and mental health conditions of older adults can hinder effective preparation and communication in the clinical setting—increasing the likelihood of treatment failure"
- National Institute of Health
User Research
We conducted many interviews, both with residents at Warm Hearth Retirement Community, as well as with Nurse Colleen Farmer. The residents at Warm Hearth expressed their struggles when they go to the doctor's office. Many of these residents felt that they needed an advocate to come with them to their doctor's appointments to help take notes, or to simply help communicate between the doctor and patient. Nurse Farmer echoed these concerns and told us that a transcript tablet like we were suggesting would not only be helpful for older adults, but people of all ages.
Prototype Evolution
Our initial prototype was made of cardboard. It had buttons on the side that would be used to navigate through the screen and menus. After some user testing, we determined that the font size needed to be bigger, and that the buttons weren't necessary. Many of the older adults said that they would be perfectly fine using a touch screen as long as the buttons on the screen were big enough for them to not accidentally press multiple buttons at once and things of that nature. Additionally, we decided that it would be good to allow the stand to fold in and serve as handles and a stand. We made these changes in our final prototype.
Final Design
The final design features ergonomic handles that double as a tabletop stand for the tablet, as well as an optional articulating arm mount that could be installed in the doctor's office.
Packaging Design
