Care U
mobile design & product design
INTRODUCTION
Care U is a campus mental health app that provides reasonable and effective solutions to different problems encountered by college students at different stages of their schooling.
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1 Project Manager
1 UX Designer
my role
UX Designer
Research
UI design
timeline
Sep 2021 - Nov 2021
overvirw
What's the problem?
It is projected that > 50% of people in the United States will be diagnosed with a mental health condition at some point in their lifetime, with the majority of these illnesses emerging in adolescence and young adulthood. Many students in need of psychotherapy on campus have difficulty accessing reliable psychologists for various reasons, thus missing many opportunities to heal their trauma. Further, there is a dearth of apps that focus solely on mental health assistance for college students.
What's the solution?
The pain points faced by college students at different ages during their school years are different. Through secondary research and interviews with college students at different ages, we designed a campus app to help college students treat their mental health, with features such as daily mood records and daily healing plans, mentor program，online training，online meeting and so on.
discover
Secondary research
Like everybody else, we took to the internet to understand everything about the domain as well as the issues faced by college students who suffer from anxiety.
It is projected that >50% of people in the United States will be diagnosed with a mental health condition at some point in their lifetime, with the majority of these illnesses emerging in adolescence and young adulthood. (Source: Active Mind)
39%
of college students experience a significant mental health issue.
75%
of mental health issues begin by the age of 24.
67%
of people 18-24 with anxiety or depression do not seek treatment
Ecosystem map
We would like to use ecosystem map to understand the relationships and dependencies between the various actors and parts that contribute to creating user experiences. An ecosystem is these actors, parts and dynamics. The maps reveal areas to optimize in services to deliver the best user experiences.
User interview
Conducted a one-to-one survey with over 30 participants
We chose to focus on the SVA campus as a starting point for our primary research. We spoke with two staff from the Student Health & Counseling Services office at SVA. We also interviewed two experts from two national mental health organizations that work with college student populations. Finally, we interviewed 24 college students in SVA.
Insights from interview
Lack of information about therapists prevents students from going to therapy
"Because I wasn't sure what the therapist was like, it was hard for me to trust them to talk about many things."
Increased exposure to counseling information can help students know about mental health and the way for them to seek help
"I tried to find a therapist before, but I didn't find this service on campus."
Students were more likely to open up to therapists from the same cultural background
"I don't think every therapist will understand you, if there are cultural differences."
Family's attitude to mental health influenced students' attitudes and the way for them to seek help
"My parents' attitudes towards me affect my mental health, but they both feel that I have nothing to worry about."
framming our focus
How might we re-imagine the experience of accessing mental health support in campuses to empower students to seek out care?
Do all college students encounter the same problems and what are the differences between them?
Define
Persona
Group the students we interviewed
From our data analysis we started to notice some themes emerge and created five student personas based on the data. This graph here shows the level of mental health support needed against the number of barriers a student may face to accessing support (whether that be professional support at school or externally).
Data Synthesis
Organize data, extra theme, summarize opportunities then generate concepts
During our research we had accumulated a vast amount of information and multiple sources, so it was necessary for us to first put everything together to see the larger picture that was beginning to emerge.
User journey map
Show the two contrasting user groups on the user journey map
The user journey map simulates the process of college students looking for a psychologist, resonates with their needs and pain points, and ultimately finds opportunity points from them.
Insight convert to opportunity
Students trust their friends and peers because they have shared experiences as college students.
Leverage the power of student community; foster connection among students.
Time prevents students from maintaining their positive coping mechanisms and from reaching out for additional support.
Mental health monitor on SVA dashboard as a way to check in with themselves. Online therapy increases conversation frequency.
International or bi-cultural students are hesitant to seek out therapy because they feel they will not be understood.
Use different languages in posters and emails. Schools could hire more online therapists from around the world.
More therapists' information helps students choose the right therapist
Show more information about the therapist for students to choose from.
We think more deeply about the most implementable ideas by mapping all the design opportunities
Final design
Daily Mood Record & Daily Schedule Recommendation
By collecting users' daily sentiment, we can better recommend daily plans and related courses for them.
Customized Treatment
A questionnaire is used to recommend a psychiatrist who may be the best fit for the user.
Information
Open information about therapy, so that users have more information reference options.
Tool Package - Peer Support
A diverse toolkit to infiltrate treatment solutions into the user's daily life.
Tool Package - School Events
Bringing together school-organized events on mental health so that students don't miss out on fun and meaningful events.
reflections & takeaways
Why this topic is important?
Mental health is important for everyone and varies from person to person. It is crucial to understand this topic to support and improve mental health outcomes. This is particularly important for college students who face unique stressors and challenges. The project aimed to explore the experiences of students entering college for the first time versus graduate students. While the topic was timely and relevant, the project could have been improved with a more defined scope to focus on specific aspects of mental health. Future research could ask more specific questions to define mental health more precisely.
How have you challenged your assumptions?
Initially, there were concerns that students would not want to participate in the project due to the sensitive and personal nature of the topic. However, the team found that engaging with students one-on-one was effective in encouraging participation. Additionally, the assumption that the topic was oversaturated was challenged as people wanted to be involved when the context was explained. The team generated various design ideas/opportunities, but further research is required to assess their feasibility and implementation timeline. The team successfully engaged with students through various outreach methods, but could have improved by starting outreach earlier.
Takeaways
It's crucial to research and prepare before cold outreach, but also ask for help to find connections. Having like-minded teammates with personal connections to the project is important. A research agenda should guide the project and be flexible. Ongoing synthesis is important and "Top 5 Things We Heard" after each interview is useful for capturing key learnings. Insights should be concise and capture the how/why of an opportunity.
