This project was presented to Pok Oi Hospital on July 18, 2011, and is currently under evaluation for implementation.

The following is a brief summary of a three month research and design project targeted towards understanding the pediatric diabetes healthcare experience at Pok Oi Hospital from both the patient and health care professional's point of view in order to improve care. This project was completed in collaboration with Pok Oi Hospital as my capstone project for the Master of Design Scheme Interaction Design program at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design. I acted as the core researcher and designer on this project.

The design challenge was to design a service that improves the lives of both patients and health care providers at Pok Oi Hospital by pinpointing opportunity areas that will impact positive behaviors towards the stakeholders, and then turning translating these opportunities into feasible and viable design recommendations and solutions.

Our primary target users were adolescents with diabetes at Pok Oi Hospital, and research was focused around how they managed their diabetes, their life rituals, and technology use. The scope was limited to pediatric diabetes, and more specifically adolescents with dibaetes, because due to various factors such as peer pressure, lifestyle, and psycho-social aspects, teenagers with diabetes are more vulnerable to the mismanagement of their diet, insulin dosages, and routine exercise.

Selected Research Insights

- The management of diabetes is simple, but the motivation is the key.

- Once out of the hospital, many teenagers and parents are on an island regarding diabetes care. As a result, many teenagers have nobody to talk to about their disease, as they don't want to talk to their parents nor do many want to tell their friends to to peer pressure.

- Patients are not in the hospital often, so as a result real chronic care happens everyday in homes and is delivered by patients themselves and their loved ones.

- To adolescents, their friends and peer groups are the most influential and important social circle.

- Teenagers naturally feel invincible, as a result it is difficult to be motivated and have the willpower to manage their diabetes lifestyle.

- There will not be one solution for all diabetic adolescents. Rather, each patient has different problems, and their body reacts differently to medicine, exercise, and diet.

- The Hong Kong diet and lifestyle makes it very difficult to live healthily.

Company Problem
Health care professionals feel helpless to care for some patients during and outside of consultation visits.

Discovered User Problem
Many adolescents with diabetes lack the motivation and willpower to manage their lifestyle.

Service Vision
Improve the patient experience by focusing on accountability, motivation, support, and connection.

Five ideas into the pediatric diabetes patient ecology.

1 - Action List
Add a section to the existing blood sugar diary for patients and health care providers to work together on immediate actions and objectives during each consultation visit.

2 - SMS Communication
Enable SMS communication for health care professionals to connect to patients outside of the hospital and provide simple reminders and positive feedback.

3 - In Hospital Meet Ups
Ask certain diabetic adolescents to meet others at the hospital, before, or after their consultation times. This would be for patients who could be benefited from an introduction, whether to be mentors, support partners, or activity partners.

4 - Out of Hospital Meet Ups
Plan activities outside of the hospital to engage local pediatric diabetes patients.

5 - Digital Community
A platform for collective action and allow diabetic adolescents to support one another by planning activities and sharing advice.