Designing User-Centered Digital Solutions for Enhanced Diabetes Management
Kumar, Anmol (2024)
2024
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024112830942
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024112830942
Tiivistelmä
Diabetes is a group of health conditions characterized by sustained high blood sugar. Diabetes not only imposes long-term personal lifestyle and economic burdens on affected individuals but also impacts society by straining public healthcare systems and workforce productivity. Although most individuals with diabetes in modern Western society continue to have better survival and may live long as the general (non-diabetic) population, yet living with diabetes entails potential life-threatening risks and numerous health complications that can lead to permanent disabilities and death.
Self-health management plays a pivotal role in long-term health and wellness. Recent advancements in digital platforms and tools have influenced health and lifestyle, presenting novel opportunities for innovative solutions. Today, digital devices such as mobile phones are utilized by a sizable portion of the global population and have been explored as useful tools for self-health and wellness management. In this thesis, we formulated four research questions centered on the diabetic population to understand their self-health management needs, the landscape of available mobile health app (mhealth) solutions, their pain points, and what innovative solutions can be further developed to address these gaps and unmet needs in personal diabetic management and care.
The presented thesis employs a specialized service design framework called Biodesign, which is tailored set of methodologies for innovation of healthcare-related products and services. Biodesign, facilitated by Stanford University, USA is a collaborative, nonlinear, iterative process like other design methods. It encompasses three major processes: Identify, Invent, and Implement. The research presented in this thesis leverages mixed research techniques, combining qualitative and quantitative methods to identify needs and invent solutions for selected unmet needs. This mixed research methodology also allows data triangulation to overcome the limitations of either qualitative or quantitative approaches.
Based on analysis of data collected during this thesis, three broad categories of needs among diabetic population were found; physical, psychological, and social. Currently available digital tools have managed to address physical needs that are the focus of traditional western healthcare practices, the psychological and social needs of diabetic population are still largely missing from currently existing solutions. Based on the findings of presented thesis, innovative solutions are being developed that can address current pain points and improve user experience and benefits. Although the final implementation phase is outside the scope of this thesis, results presented here are being utilized for the development of a prototype mobile application for self-health management for diabetics. Our start-up team nutrilyser has already started testing prototype in small scale and plans limited release of a minimal viable product (MVP) by the spring of 2025.
Self-health management plays a pivotal role in long-term health and wellness. Recent advancements in digital platforms and tools have influenced health and lifestyle, presenting novel opportunities for innovative solutions. Today, digital devices such as mobile phones are utilized by a sizable portion of the global population and have been explored as useful tools for self-health and wellness management. In this thesis, we formulated four research questions centered on the diabetic population to understand their self-health management needs, the landscape of available mobile health app (mhealth) solutions, their pain points, and what innovative solutions can be further developed to address these gaps and unmet needs in personal diabetic management and care.
The presented thesis employs a specialized service design framework called Biodesign, which is tailored set of methodologies for innovation of healthcare-related products and services. Biodesign, facilitated by Stanford University, USA is a collaborative, nonlinear, iterative process like other design methods. It encompasses three major processes: Identify, Invent, and Implement. The research presented in this thesis leverages mixed research techniques, combining qualitative and quantitative methods to identify needs and invent solutions for selected unmet needs. This mixed research methodology also allows data triangulation to overcome the limitations of either qualitative or quantitative approaches.
Based on analysis of data collected during this thesis, three broad categories of needs among diabetic population were found; physical, psychological, and social. Currently available digital tools have managed to address physical needs that are the focus of traditional western healthcare practices, the psychological and social needs of diabetic population are still largely missing from currently existing solutions. Based on the findings of presented thesis, innovative solutions are being developed that can address current pain points and improve user experience and benefits. Although the final implementation phase is outside the scope of this thesis, results presented here are being utilized for the development of a prototype mobile application for self-health management for diabetics. Our start-up team nutrilyser has already started testing prototype in small scale and plans limited release of a minimal viable product (MVP) by the spring of 2025.