Inspiration Questions
How will people prepare for the end of their life journey when it becomes foreseeable?
What do people need in the final stage of their lives?
Goal
1. Help hospice patients experience a more dignified and comfortable end of life
2. Pass on their memories to the next generation
The foundational goal of this project is to enhance hospice care, aiming to assist hospice patients (individuals in advanced stages of cancer) in experiencing a more dignified and comfortable final phase of life, while also helping them pass on their memories to the next generation.
Interview Documentary
Patients feel lonely and guilty for burdening loved ones, expressing a desire for a dignified end with peace and family by their side.
In the documentary "Sheng Sheng," patients describe a pervasive sense of loneliness and the guilt of feeling like a burden to their supportive loved ones. Their stories reveal distressing experiences, including suicide attempts, which underscore the severe pain and sense of helplessness. They express desires for a dignified end, wishing to spend their final moments in peace and in the company of family.
Questionnaire
Patients commonly face challenges like high treatment costs and breathing difficulties, with many experiencing psychological issues and seeking counseling.
Most respondents want to leave legacy records in text and video formats.
A questionnaire was designed for cancer patients and their family members, with the aim of identifying the challenges faced by patients and understanding their needs. A total of 108 participants completed the survey.
Advance Directives:
71.7% plan to establish them.
Legacy Records:
94.4% wish to leave records, preferring textual and video formats for personal achievements and messages.
Challenges:
Half of the respondents report high treatment costs and breathing difficulties.
Mental Health:
25% face psychological issues like depression, with 77.8% needing psychological counseling.
Palliative Care:
38% fully accept, while 52.7% accept partially.
Personas
Xiuying, the patient, needs pain relief, companionship, autonomy in decisions, financial help, and psychological support. She faces worsening health, relentless pain, ineffective treatments, high costs, side effects, mental distress, and the anticipation of death.
Wei, the patient’s family member, needs financial and psychological support, caregiving assistance, and emotional support. He deals with a heavy financial burden, exhaustion, communication issues with his mother, emotional breakdowns, and accepting her imminent death.
Journey Map
The journey map outlines Xiuying Li's battle with stomach cancer, from initial symptoms and the shock of diagnosis to the advanced stages marked by pain, emotional turmoil, and the wish for a peaceful passing.
Identified Challenges
Financial and physical challenges often take priority and arise earlier than spiritual challenges or needs
Hospice patients primarily face six major challenges in terms of the severity of their negative impact:
Lack of Economic Support
Intolerable Physical Pain
Lack of Caregiving Support
Psychological Issues Due to the Illness
Lack of Retention of Patient Records / Memory
Lack of Platforms to Find Caregivers
The proposed solutions to address these challenges are centered around six key areas:
Economic Support
Pain Relief
Caregiving Professionals
Psychological Support
Memory Preservation
Hospice Care Promotion
Solution Evaluation
A Website Is More Readily Accessible and Can Achieve a Comprehensive Layout
Upon reviewing these solutions, it was determined that a website and an app represent the most fitting choices, meeting five out of the seven specified criteria. The website was selected for its immediate accessibility and the potential for a more comprehensive page layout.
Information Architecture
The website focuses on offering four main functions:
Pain Management
Streamlined and immediate pain-relief treatment
- Emergency Prescription—Get the medication prescribed and delivered quickly.
- Emergency Infusion—Nurse home visit immediately to administer a painkiller injection.
- Medicine Purchase—Regular purchase channel for non-emergent needs.
Memory
Patient memory uploads and preservation
- Patient Memories—Explore diaries and journals users have shared, and provide feedback.
- Patient Mementos—Explore mementos generated for each user.
- Upload Memory—Upload the records and publish them to be stored in the cloud.
Discover
Connections with medical professionals and patients
- Medical Care Facility—Search for hospitals and care centers.
- Professional Personnel—Search for doctors, counselors, and caregivers, and contact them.
- Fellow Patients—Search for fellow patients and connect with them.
Fundraising
Initiation and support of fundraising
- Seek—Initiate a donation and manage current donation posts.
- Donate—Browse through donation posts and donate to someone.
Target User + User Flow
The target users of the website are:
- Hospice Patients and Their Family Members
- Professional Personnel (doctors, therapists, caregivers, etc.)
- Guests (those who are willing to donate, explore memories, or join the team)
Low Fidelity Wireframes
Design System
Final Website Interface
Home
Navigate through the four different sections and learn about commonweal activities.
From the Home page, users can navigate to four key functional areas: Pain Management, Crowdfunding, Care Search, and Patient Memories. They can also learn about recent commonweal activities.
Pain Management
Enter your location and preferred medication to receive fast-track doctor approval and expedite severe pain prescriptions.
Users first input their Location and set up an Emergency Pathway by specifying their preferred pain medication or analgesic infusion. This pathway becomes operational once approved by the Attending Doctor, expediting the prescription process for severe pain by eliminating delays in medication search, doctor's approval, and delivery details.
Quickly confirm payment by selecting Emergency Prescription or Infusion, and get matched with the best provider.
After establishing the pathway, users can quickly navigate to the Payment Confirmation page by selecting either the Emergency Prescription or Emergency Infusion options. The system matches users with the most suitable pharmacy or home healthcare personnel based on their preferences.
Purchase medications through the standard process for non-urgent needs.
For non-urgent needs, users can search for medications using the standard search bar, add items to their Cart, or proceed directly to the Buy Now page.
Consult a pharmacist for medications tailored to your health needs.
Users can consult with a pharmacist to obtain medications tailored to their specific health conditions.
Patient Memories
View patients’ uploaded memories and leave a comment. If they have passed away, leave a flower or view the AI-generated Memento.
Selecting a patient's avatar provides access to their memories, which include diaries and logs uploaded by the patient. If the patient has passed away, visitors have the option to Leave a Flower or take a look at the AI-generated Memento.
View commemorative designs in the Mementos section, download images, and purchase items.
Users can switch to the Mementos section to view and interact with special commemorative designs for deceased patients. Clicking a design leads to a detailed Memento page where users can download the image or purchase entities adorned with the designs.
Upload memories and customize privacy settings. Revisit and update them anytime.
The 'Upload Memories' button on the search page allows users to upload images, videos, and music, with customizable privacy settings: Public, Followers Only, Family Members Only, or Private. Users can also revisit and update their uploaded memories anytime.
Care Search
Filter searches by category and follow those you’re interested in.
Users can filter their search by categories such as Medical Care Facility, Professional Personnel, and Fellow Patients. The 'My Followings' feature allows them to conveniently monitor the profiles of people or institutions they are interested in. For more comprehensive details, users can click on 'More Information.'
Check Available Times to schedule an appointment with a doctor or caregiver.
On the Information-Doctor/Caregiver page, 'Available Times' is a useful feature that enables users to find and schedule appointments at convenient times.
Find a doctor from the Hospital Information page and view their profile.
On the Information-Hospital page, users can explore and select from a list of doctors within that facility, leading them to the respective doctors' detailed profiles.
Read a patient’s memory in the Fellow Patients tab.
The Information-Patient page directs users to the Patient Memories page, offering access to patient journals.
Explore different groups and find a patient within the group.
On the Information-Group page, users can view the profiles of group members by clicking on 'View Profile.'
Crowdfunding
Browse crowdfunding posts, view patient profiles, and donate to support.
Users have the ability to browse through various posts that have been shared. By selecting 'More Info,' they will be directed to a detailed page for each crowdfunding post. On this page, users can view the patient's profile by clicking 'View Profile,' or they can click on 'Support' to offer their support through donations.
Publish a crowdfunding post, track its progress, edit it, and boost visibility.
To launch a crowdfunding initiative, users can click on 'Initiate Crowdfunding' and proceed to publish their post. After publishing, users can track their posts, make edits to them, or Increase Post Views (by either elevating the post's position on the display page or by increasing the frequency of appearance). Each month, users are granted three complimentary chances to increase their post's views without any cost.
About
Learn about the brand, service offerings, products, partnerships, team members, and contact information.
The About page, which offers further insights into the brand, can be accessed via the navigation bar.
Explore and purchase brand promotional products.
Upon entering the About page, users can click on 'View Store' to be redirected to the Products page, where they can explore a range of promotional products related to the brand.
