Using Human Centered Design to Create New Resources for AFib Patients
SOME BACKGROUND
Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is the most commonly treated heartbeat irregularity in the US, affecting between 2.7 and 6.1 million people, according to the CDC. The condition is serious because AFib can increase the risk of clots forming in the heart, which in turn can lead to strokes. While white people of European descent are generally more likely to develop AFib, minority populations often have underlying conditions such as obesity, high blood pressure, kidney disease or diabetes that can put them at significant risk of developing AFib. There is also some evidence that Black and Latinx patients receive different care and experience different outcomes compared to White patients.
AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION PARTNERSHIP
In order to help AFib patients manage their condition, staff from the Center for Health Equity (CHE) partnered with the American Heart Association (AHA) to help AFib patients design and test resources that would help guide and support future AFib patients and help them to thrive with a new diagnosis. As with our previous work with stroke patients, we used a “human-centered design” approach that puts the end user in control of the design process. Our team worked with the American Heart Association and a group of AFib patients to design and test a prototype of a tool they developed to help them understand their diagnosis, keep track of their medications, and build a community to connect with.
DESIGN WORKSHOPS
Between October 2019 and April 2020, the CHE team consisting of Nancy Molello, Abhay Singh, and Jia Lee facilitated four planning and design workshops with AFib patients and the AHA. Each workshop had a distinct Human-Centered Design theme.
The 1st workshop introduced the participants to human centered design and helped each participant empathize and understand each other. Participants drew journey maps that detailed the major events in their life following their diagnosis.
The 2nd workshop focused on defining the problems that atrial fibrillation patients face and began to ideate on potential solutions for these problems.
The 3rd workshop centered around creating prototypes of the ideas that the patients voted for.
The 4th workshop involved testing the prototypes that were created and providing feedback on how to improve them.
The AFib patients wanted to develop two tools that would help them and future patients manage their conditions. First, they wanted to create a smartphone app that could store their medical information such as blood pressure and heart rate, track their daily medications, provide information about AFib and the different treatments available, and remind them about doctor’s appointments. Second, they wanted a paper tool to help prepare for doctor’s appointments. This tool would be especially useful for patients who don’t have or aren’t familiar with using a smartphone.
OUTCOMES
To develop the smartphone app, we partnered with Dr. Nino Isakadze from Johns Hopkins University Department of Cardiology, who had previously developed the Corrie Health App for heart attack patients. The Corrie Health App was used as a model to be tailored to incorporate suggestions made by AFib patients for features that would be useful to them. With the additional assistance of Dr. Seth Martin and Dr. David Newman-Toker, grant funding has been secured to develop and test this new cardiac health app.
The team developed a prototype of the paper tool based on the patients’ suggestions. The patients then reviewed the prototype and suggested additional features. The AHA is planning to finalize this tool and make it available for patients on their website.
Finally, after hearing all the conversations between patients during the design process, it also became clear how important it was for patients to develop peer-to-peer support networks. The patients valued discussing what worked best for them. They also appreciated being able to ask each other questions about treatments they had undergone and why they chose them. As a result, in addition to our other recommendations, we suggested that the AHA establish support groups for AFib patients.
The app, the paper resource, and the call for support groups all highlight ways the Center for Health Equity is striving to improve the outcomes for all patients. Look for updates on this effort in future posts!
RELEVANT LEARNING RESOURCES