Care Connext

A Comprehensive Care Service to Promote and Maintain Caregiver Wellbeing

01. Overview

OUR SOLUTION: A comprehensive, individualized caregiver care package.

ROLES/RESPONSIBILITIES: Research, Prototyping

TEAM: Rachel Ancar, Ngan Hoang, Nikhil Mahadevan, Blake Smith, Emily Yan, MS

PREPARED FOR: 3D Prototyping Course.

THE CHALLENGE: Tasked with design challenge to rapidly prototype a caregiver service.

02. Introduction

BACKGROUND:

As the aging population grows in the U.S. there is an ever-growing need for caregivers. Caregivers are overworked, often assuming the role of caregiver unexpectedly. Yet they are also often met with a moral obligation to perform these new duties of a carer. Traditional occupations lack this feeling of moral duty and so there is no regard for so-called “work hours”, nor do caregivers routinely receive monetary compensation for their efforts. In sum, the often thankless job of caregiving is of undeniable importance, yet those caring are not cared for.

03. In-Depth Design Research

RESEARCH:

With an aim to capture the breadth of caregiving in the U.S., we interviewed caregivers at two ends of the caregiving and aid spectrum. On the one hand, we recognized our own internal biases in that the stereotyped caregiver may be someone who is caring for an aging loved-one, often someone who is part of the family.

On the other hand, we had the privilege of interviewing a younger caregiver in his 20’s who, for a period of time, had cared for a similar-aged friend of his with an unknown degenerative musculoskeletal disease that greatly inhibited his Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). We were excited to develop insights from these two insightful user interviews.

PERSONAS:

04. Insights

COMMON THEMES:

  • Connection (emotionally) to the person being cared for

  • Growing pains: How roles and relationships with recipient of care affect caregiving

  • Caregiver experience: Levels of stress and overall mental health are affected directly whether the person being cared for improves or declines.

  • Tolls taken: Physical and emotional

INSIGHTS:

  1. When children become caregivers to their elderly parents, their relationship dynamics are two-fold: there are increased pressures to meet their parents’ expectations, leading to the neglect of their own self-care and well-being.

  2. Patients’ met milestones tip the metaphorical balance towards hope for a better future while unmet milestones tip the balance towards gut-wrenching disappointment. Although we hope for the former, health outcomes are too often out of our control. Even so, the mental health of caregivers mirror this metaphorical balance.

  3. Caregivers can find a reprieve/respite from the stresses of caregiving through support system. A caregiver without a support system is more vulnerable to the stresses that are intrinsic to the caregiving experience. In this way the success of these support systems can either make or break one’s experience as a caregiver by bolstering or neglecting the mental health and personal needs of the caregiver.

05. Ideation

Stakeholders include many different users such as caregivers, families of caregivers, and patients

DESIGN CRITERIA:

Our design must…

  1. Enable caregivers to feel fulfilled, gratified, and confident in their caregiving abilities

  2. Provide caregivers intuitive ways for finding and maintaining support systems around them

  3. Embrace unfavorable health outcomes whilst fostering a healthy state of mind

Concepts

  • Concept #1: Allow caregivers to gain confidence and knowledge about how to provide care

  • Concept #2: Enable caregivers to help each other create positive experiences for themselves and their patients

  • Concept #3: Enable caregivers to monitor their own self-care as well as the needs of the person they care for in a structured manner

06. Prototyping

POSSIBLE PRODUCT IDEAS:

Our service ideas ranged from fridge magnets and pen pals to a comprehensive service for caregivers.

07. Our Individualized Service

FINAL PRODUCT:
Stakeholders included a variety of individuals: caregivers, caregivers' families, and, of course, the patients whom are being cared for.

Our product aims to meet the needs of a variety of users — some of whom may prefer analog, digital, or a hybrid of products.

Multiple Modalities for content delivery:

  1. Starter Guide

  2. Mobile App

  3. Caregiving Website

  4. Welcome Kit & Monthly Self-care Subscription Box

Target demographic: Our final product will be marketed to caregivers themselves or friends/family of caregivers who would like to gift a thoughtful service to their loved one so that they can maintain wellness while caregiving.

USER TESTING: Our care kit was user tested with 20+ individuals, many of who have served in caregiver roles or know of a caregiver.

08. Reflection

TAKEAWAYS:

  1. Understanding rich lived-experiences drives meaningful design.

  2. It’s okay to embrace inevitabilities (i.e. caregiver wellbeing is directly correlated with their patients’ health status) and design alongside them.

  3. Designing for a role as multi-faceted, and personal as caregiving requires a solution that embodies exactly those two things.

Thank you!