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Client

Anthony Faiola PhD.

key areas

Communication, Research, Design Thinking, User Experience, User Interface, Interactive Design, Rapid Prototyping 

 

 

The problem space

Family members of patients in ICU or some other intensive care units are often under high stress due to having a loved one in a critical situation. Although some family members are deeply committed to visiting the patient, many are limited by time, geography, or other demanding obligations. Moreover, the communication between the family members and the clinical care team is often limited and does not provide adequate understandable information about a patient’s diagnosis, prognosis and treatment for family members. This puts them at risk for experiencing depression, anxiety, high levels of stress, and disruptions of family relationships 

process

OBSERVATIONS/INTERVIEWS

To get a better understanding of the ICU environment from the perspective of the family member, the following activities were conducted: 

  • Observations of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
  • Spoke with nurses and other staff members 
  • Observed in the family member waiting room listening into conversations and observing mobile phone usage
  • Conducted over the phone interviews with past ICU family members

 Defining the problem 

 Miscommunications within the ICU create depression, anxiety, high levels of stress, and disruptions of family relationships. The problem is how to address these breakdowns and create a tool that can relive the symptoms of miscommunications in the ICU.  

COMPETITIVE REVIEW  

6 other ICU family communication applications were compared to FAMcare's features through competitive analysis. Analyzing the competitions communication, information, audience, and device.  

DEVELOP USERS AND PERSONAS  

In order to propel development, user stories and road maps were created to address the high level concepts at a more personal scale.  Personas were created to give a face to the users and focus on their needs from their perspective.

WIREFRAMES AND BASIC PROTOTYPES

Low fidelity wireframes and site maps were created to organize the complex and dynamic  interactions between users and content. This frame work was then further developed to showcase the concept at conferences and in lectures.  More work is currently being done with FAMcare to explore ICU communication and how a user centered application my aid in s better client experience.