Introduction to Newcomer Zone
Newcomer Zone, a mental health app idea, aims to provide crucial support for newcomers navigating the challenges of adapting to a new lifestyle. For those holding OHIP cards (Ontario Health Insurance Plan), this platform offers the opportunity to easily book free therapy sessions, either online or in-person, with psychiatrists who share their cultural background and language.
Project overview
My team developed this App to assist newcomers in their journey of adapting to a new country, especially those who may be experiencing frustration and seeking support for their mental well-being.
Methods
Primary Research
Secondary Research
Wireframe
Prototype
Usability Test
Year
August
2022
Timeline
7 weeks
Main Tools
Miro
Figma
Adobe Premiere Pro
Teams
My role
Our team consisted of two UX Designers, one Content strategist, and one Web Developer. I was one of the UX designers and the project manager.
As the UX Designer, I conducted UX research, made the prototype, and created the product demo.
As the Project Manager, I was responsible for scheduling meetings, assigning tasks, and following up with the team.
Problem
We all experience mental health challenges, but not everyone is supported through these challenges equally. Moreover, most people prefer online therapy with someone from the same cultural background who speaks the same language.
Design process
To uncover the issues immigrants face accessing therapy, we conducted interviews and gathered insights about users' pain points. Then, through brainstorming, we devised a solution to cover all the primary users' needs and made the low-fidelity prototype. After running the prototype usability test and finding the design issues, we applied the required changes to the high-fidelity prototype and finally created the App demo.
Users Paint points
In terms of mental health help resources, newcomers currently have the following pain points:
Costs of healthcare prevent users from seeking options, even when they need them.
Establishing a connection with the therapist can be challenging due to differences in cultural backgrounds and primary languages.
Don't know where to look for options.
Prefer flexible timings due to a busy schedule.
Wish to avoid extended waiting times.
Personas
In this project, we targeted immigrants as the primary users since this group faces different challenges from the moment they arrive in Canada. Immigration is a huge change in life; some people need mental and emotional support even years after settling. With all the findings, we delivered a persona to address and demonstrate our target audience's needs and pain points
Gabriel
Age: 27
Job: Pharmacist
Location: Toronto
Bio
Gabriel came to Canada 6 years ago, studied Pharmacy, and currently is working in Shoppers Drug Mart.
Needs
Getting therapy sessions with flexible hours.
Being able to afford the sessions.
Speaking with someone who understands her mother tongue.
Frustrations
Navigation on the website is a challenge, she cannot find the information easy
Finding available flights on RiseAir is a frustrating process. It is not clear that flights are in a certain area on certain dates
The only way to reschedule or cancel a flight is to call the airline and it’ll take lots of time.
Design solution
Immigrants with the Green OHIP card can get free therapy sessions with psychiatrists, however, If they want to find one through their family doctor, there might be a long list and they don't know who the doctor is before the appointment.
Our solution gives users access to multilingual and cultural psychiatrists funded by the Government, online therapy sessions to save time, and provides essential information about the psychiatrists.
Key Features
Psychiatrists are funded by the Ontario government, that's why we decided to connect them with users who own the Green OHIP card to have free therapy sessions.
Match me with a psychiatrist option. In case users do not want to go through the whole booking process they can let the app know what kind of doctor they are looking for and what time during the day/night they prefer to have their sessions.
Users are from different Ethnicity, and English is their second language. We have designed a filter that gives users the power to select psychiatrists who match their culture and language.
My dashboard is where users can see their appointments, progress, and journals that they can share with their doctors.
Cancelling an appointment is a straightforward process and users are prompted to provide a reason. We think a follow-up email is essential to check on the users and encourage them to take their first step or continue their sessions.
User flow
Usability Test Feedback
The feedback we received after testing the low-fidelity prototype with users are:
The words "Mental Health" are missing on the Sign in page, so it is not clear what this App is about
Participants expect to see
"re-confirm password" and “Accept Terms and Conditions”
The "Status" label by itself does not mean “Status in Canada” to the users.
These outcomes are expected by default, and should not be choices users make.
Not wise and safe to mention anything about medicines since can cause legal issues.
Better be a dropdown menu where users can select which appointment they want to cancel, otherwise, users have to remember the appointment date.
Wireframes
We created the wireframes on Figma based on the user flow.
UI style guide
Colors
Buttons
Typography
Text field
Reflection & Learning
Hello, World!
Mental health is a very sensitive area and it requires lots of research to make sure the design is providing a safe environment for the users. Having an industry mentor can be really helpful.
Usability tests were crucial, not only because they helped to find the issues with the design, but also because they made sure words that could cause legal problems were revised. As the participants said: "It’s better not to mention anything about medicines and let the psychiatrists decide whether the patients are going to need them or not"
Team collaboration is the key to finishing a project in 7 weeks. Regular meetings, communication and listening skills helped us to come up with this design in a short period of time
Next Step
Provide a section for people who do not hold a Green OHIP card, but have other insurance that covers the therapy costs.