Week 4
Personas & Scenarios —
Before Wednesday’s class, we developed personas and scenarios to communicate possible healthcare experiences. My group focused on the experiences of an elderly patient with vision impairment and the front desk receptionist over the course of arrival and journey through the reception area.
In mapping out their journey and seeing the work done by other groups, I decided that I want to focus on design for connectivity and community in the waiting room. Based on questions identified by group 2, answers I received from interviews, and my own experience as a patient at this particular institution, I feel like there are many opportunities associated with this space.
I then developed two personas to communicate this narrative. The first is Ronda, a 31 year old with Down syndrome. Though she is a regular physical therapy patient, this time she is visiting the ophthalmology unit for an early onset cataracts diagnosis, a common vision impairment in people with Down syndrome. She usually comes to appointments alone, but she is worried that the ophthalmologist will require cataracts surgery as part of her treatment plan so she has come with her sister Lucy for moral support.
This persona is based on my next door neighbour back in Ottawa.
The second persona is Jamie, a college student who is suffering from temporary vision problems as a result of a concussion. This is his third visit to the ophthalmology clinic.
After developing the personas, I began by jotting down their journeys in list form. Ronda’s journey emphasizes her first time going to the ophthalmology unit and the anxiety she feels surrounding her potential diagnosis. Jamie’s journey emphasizes his role as a returning patient and the discomfort he feels as a result of his condition. Putting the two lists side by side show that the personas converge in the waiting area.
I then mapped these events onto a timeline, where Ronda’s journey (in yellow) moves from left to right and Jamie’s journey (in blue) moves from right to left as the two converge in the waiting area represented in the middle.
The two personas’ journeys then converge in the middle where an area is identified for pain points and opportunities.
In terms of potential pain points, on Ronda’s side, she might feel like is being disruptive by talking to Lucy when the rest of the waiting area is fairly silent. So instead, she sits in silence and lets anxiety over her potential diagnosis brew, when in reality she might have just needed a new pair of glasses.
On Jamie’s side, he begins scrolling through social media but quickly becomes self conscious as he notices that everyone around him is much older and worries that he will be stereotyped as a typical young person glued to their phone. So instead he just sits in silence, staring into space.
Jamie’s pain point is largely based on my own experience. I used to go in for regular check-ups for chronic thrombosis, but because thrombosis (blood clotting) most commonly occurs in older people, I would find myself feeling awkward and out of place.
Underneath a big “OR”, I noted an opportunity space where my area of interest could play into. As Jamie and Ronda wait for their names to be called, there is an opportunity for them to connect over similarities and differences in their conditions and themselves as people. Their conditions are different in that Jamie’s is temporary and Ronda’s is progressive, but the two of them are likely to have shared experiences. Even if the solution does not involve the two of them directly engaging in conversation, it could be something that lets them acknowledge each other’s presence to let them know that they are not alone.
Link to personal figma board: https://www.figma.com/file/LPW7Uj0eHcbkdrZMp9GQTq/P-Studio-F2020?node-id=0%3A1
