In a small team, we created a tablet app prototype for clinicians to use to help serodiscordant couples (one partner living with HIV) safely conceive children. The prototype focused on displaying the couples data visually while also being an education tool about the woman’s fertility cycle and the viral load of the partner living with HIV. The goal of the project was to build a fully interactive prototype that could be used on site in Kenya and Uganda during first round usability tests with the clinicians. To learn more about the project, read our grant overview.
We started our project by researching and learning about the fertility cycle and treatment of HIV by reading relevant literature, interviewing clinicians, and viewing presentations about how the clinics operate. We then did a comparative analysis of apps currently on the market to track both fertility and medication, followed by sketching and paper prototyping.
During the high fidelity prototyping phase I led our team in the process by creating a Team Axure project and maintaining our files by using Beanstalk (which I highly recommend!), and contributing to the design. We completed numerous iterations, feedback sessions, and small tests to help create a strong prototype ready for use and feedback generation in Africa.
You may view and interact with the prototype on any device with a browser.
A few of the main screens are shown and described below.
During our research and testing we discovered that patients would need to interact with 4 major data screens, so we designed an overview screen with clear visual language and easy access to each data set.
The linear view presents all of the data collected at once in a standard calendar. We created filters to allow the clinicians to subtract data for a more focused conversation. We also spent a lot of time researching and refining what data to present and what was most important. We determined that menses was an important period of time to display, along with the two peak fertility days.
The cycle view presents similar data to the calendar view but in a fertility cycle format. This is something the clincians are currently using to discuss cycles with their patients so we wanted to be sure to have a view that works similarly to their current practice.
The viral load screen highlights the current viral load of the partner living with HIV, and the PrEP screen tracks how often the partner not living with HIV has been taking their medication. During the study viral load will only be tested twice (due to the high expense of the blood test). So this screen highlights those 2 test readings, clicking on the blue dots will provide a more detailed view of that data.
My key learnings from this project were general knowledge about the mhealth field, fertility cycles, and the practice of safe conception relating to HIV. I had a lot of fun working in a team to manage and design the prototype and am eager to hear the results of the usability tests and be involved in the apps creation.
