Product Category
Role
Responsible for product design, strategy and on-ground usability tests
Client & Stakeholders
Dell;
Havard Medical School, SJRI, NHSRC
As per World Health Organization
current system
India's rural healthcare system is a tiered network of primary, secondary, and tertiary facilities aiming to provide accessible and affordable healthcare to the rural population.
Primary Users
The platform was primarily designed for ASHA, CHO, ANM, and MO roles. Additional functionalities were tailored for Staff Nurses and Data Entry Operators.
Background
With a vision to improve NCD screening and management, Dell partnered with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) to launch a digital health platform in 2018, impacting 22 Indian states.
While the platform provided a foundation for digital healthcare, design challenges hindered its widespread adoption among frontline workers like ASHA and ANM.
Findings from St. John's Research Institute (SJRI) field research
01
Usage driven by compliance, not good experience
While it was already being used by 1M health workers, the usage was driven by compliance over UX. With redesign we had to be mindful of changing a product used at scale.
02
Users’ resistance to change
Existing product workflows were not in synergy with the way users worked on the ground and users were way more comfortable with paper entries over digital. Moreover, it wasn’t designed for use in crowded environments and need for speed.
03
Too many features without user focus
The NCD app struggles to balance user needs with ever-changing guidelines. Feature overload creates a cluttered experience, while missing unique identifiers hinder efficient search.
01.
through site visits and user interactions
01.
By analysing existing platform data, we prioritised essential fields, eliminated redundancies, and optimised the interface to align with user workflows, significantly improving efficiency.
03.
Design Strategies
01.
Data entry was a significant challenge for low-literacy ASHA workers accustomed to paper forms. To streamline the process, we transformed the complex digital form into intuitive swipe-able cards. User testing confirmed a strong preference for this approach, with one ASHA worker stating, "Focusing on one question at a time makes it incredibly easy."
Long CBAC forms as swipe-able flashcards
3-step Examination, Diagnosis and Treatment
02.
Recognising the hectic pace of PHCs, we optimised the EDT (Examination, Diagnosis, Treatment) process for MOs and CHOs. By simplifying the journey into three intuitive steps and mirroring familiar case sheet formats, we halved data entry time without compromising patient care. This streamlined workflow empowers healthcare providers to focus on patient needs, not paperwork.
03.
By leveraging voice, and inclusive language design, we created a platform accessible to users with varying digital literacy and language proficiencies. Supporting all Indic languages through the ‘Anek’ font and incorporating interactive elements, we made learning engaging and reduced reliance on manual training.
04.
Frontline health workers like ASHA, CHO, and ANM often feel unseen despite their critical roles. To amplify their impact, we added a section to their work platform that celebrates their achievements. By providing tangible metrics and insights, we empowered these heroes to visualise their contributions and find joy in their work.
Impact
