Virtuélle
An exploratory solution to empowering Black women with equitable access to care, content and community.
About
Virtuélle is a maternal telehealth app that connects Black women to culturally competent healthcare practitioners, content and community.
Virtuélle offers a database of vetted practitioners, on-demand care via video appointments and private messaging as well as a safe community space that centers and celebrates Black women and their lived experiences.
My Process
Initial Insight
“I almost died after giving birth to my daughter”
— Serena Williams
Research
What Black women
are saying
33% of Black women
“I’ve been discriminated against because of my race when going to a doctor or health clinic”
— Source
21% of Black women
“I’ve avoided seeking health care out of concern I’d be racially discriminated against”
— Source
Pregnancy-related deaths by race
Number of deaths per 100,000 live births.
Observation
According to the CDC, black mothers in the U.S. die at three to four times the rate of white mothers, one of the widest of all racial disparities in women's health.
Insight
The problem isn't race but racism – often systemic and amplified by unconscious biases embedded in the medical system. This affects the quality of care Black women receive in stark and subtle ways, often leading to feelings of being devalued, disrespected and dismissed by medical providers.
Competitive Analysis
I conducted competitive analyses of several maternal healthcare apps to better understand Virtuélle’s future marketplace and identify potential opportunities and threats.
Currently, there are no direct competitors as no one app offers maternal telehealth services specifically for Black women.
User Interviews
I interviewed 5 participants for approx. 45 minutes each. The sample was a good mixture of mothers, expecting mothers and those soon planning to be.
What interviewees said
Participant 1
At the end of the day, maternal apps just aren’t inclusive spaces for me… they’re geared towards the default. Which are white women.
Participant 3
Having a provider that looks like me is like receiving “The Nod” we give each other on the street. Like an instant “I see you. And you’re safe.”
Affinity map of user quotes and observations.
Initial Hypothesis
If encounters with healthcare practitioners were less defined by unconscious biases and systematic racism and instead centered Black women and their lived realities, the care Black women receive would drastically improve.
Research Goals
Better understand challenges Black women face in navigating maternal healthcare needs
Identify key pain points, missing features and/or services within current market of maternal health apps
Research Insights
Although my initial hypothesis was correct, there were additional layers. Black women not only yearn for healthcare experiences free of racism and bias, but also for maternal healthcare content and resources that are reflective of them and their lived reality as well as to build community with others like them.
User Personas
I synthesized research findings and interview data into user personas, giving my research a human face and narrative to guide further concept and design decisions.
User Journey Maps
In order to further create narratives around my primary personas Bri and Maya’s motivations and behaviors, I created user journey maps. These maps detail the process Bri and Maya might go through in order to accomplish their goals using Virtuélle.
Feature Definition
Synthesizing the motivations, behaviors and needs of my primary personas validated the following key features Virtuélle would need to have in order to provide value:
Sitemap
Prior to sketching wireframes, I created a sitemap to illustrate the hierarchy and overall technical articulation of my app’s information architecture.
Design Iterations
Wireframes gradually evolved from low-fidelity sketches using pen and paper and focusing primarily on functionality to high-fidelity prototypes using Adobe XD.
I gradually increased fidelity, solving any points of friction in progressive iterations informed by cycles of user testing and rapid prototyping and always striving make an app that is more useful and usable with each iteration.
Usability Tests
I conducted moderated remote usability tests with 6 participants and an interactive high-fidelity prototype of Virtuélle. Participants were given a series of user scenarios and asked to accomplish specific tasks using the prototype.
Affinity map of user quotes and observations.
Test Objectives
assess learnability, ease and efficiency by observing how users move through the app while following specific task prompts
determine if key features such as searching practitioner database and booking appointments are intuitive to navigate and successfully complete
Findings + Test Results
I methodologically clustered and analyzed accumulated qualitative data with the help of affinity mapping, identifying patterns of friction before transforming them into actionable next steps for future app iterations.
App Improvements
Key points of frictions identified during user testing that called for usability improvements included:
Home Screen
Issue: Purpose and USP of app and content priorities of Home Screen are not aligned
Solution: Reorganize hierarchy and adding a swipe-able carousel of healthcare categories
Practitioner Search Results
Issue 1: User has no way of quickly seeing top rated practitioners
Solution 1: Add star rating visible on profile previews within practitioner search result list, top rated automatically at the top of results
Issue 2: Practitioner availability revealed too late in the process of browsing practitioners
Solution 2: Add “earliest availability” section to profile previews within practitioner search result list
UI Kit + Brand Style Guide
I created a design and brand style guide, documenting everything from UI elements to imagery and illustration in order to help safeguard Virtuélle’s visual integrity throughout future iterations.
Interactive Prototype
Check out the latest iteration of Virtuélle’s clickable prototype here:
