Trauma Kit:
End to End App Design
About the Project
Trauma kit is an app where users will be able to find recommended first aid kits based on activity and the amount of people that are involved. They will also be able to find information about different medical equipment and medications that are in their first aid kits, and how to properly use it in an emergency.
User Research
For the User Research I decided to focus on conducting in person interviews. I decided to go down this avenue because outdoor exploration is very popular in my city, so finding people to interview would be very easy, and time efficient.
Some questions asked during the interview.
What considerations do you take when packing a first aid kit for a multi day camping trip with several people?
What steps would you take when applying a splint to a broken arm?
What would you do if somebody in your group were to get a deep gash in their leg when on a camping trip? How quickly would you seek medical attention?
Participants
I interviewed 5 people that are pretty active with outdoor activities.
5 Participants
Ages: 22 - 38
3 Women
2 Men
Findings
The majority of the participants interviewed had their CPR Certification, but were not confident with their skill level in an emergency situation.
4/5 participants keep a first aid kit either on their person or in their car when engaging in an outdoor activity.
2/5 participants pack a first aid kit based on the activity they are performing.
Packing a First Aid Kit
During the User Interviews, what their response was to bringing a first aid kit when going on a multi day camping trip.
Two users pack for everybody that is going on the camping trip, stating they felt more comfortable with camping when they have control over everybody’s safety.
One user packs a different first aid kit for themselves based on the activities they are going to be performing.
Two users had a first aid kit in their car, and would not pack more for certain activities.
One user did not have a first aid kit, but is intending to get one.
Applying a Splint
During the User Interviews I asked the users if they knew how to apply a splint, and if they would feel comfortable applying one in an emergency.
Three users were educated on how to apply a splint and felt comfortable with applying one in an emergency.
One user had basic knowledge of how to apply a splint, but did not feel confident applying one in an emergency.
Two users did not know how to apply a splint, and did not feel confident applying one in an emergency.
Severe Injury
According to the User Interviews, users are more likely to act first and apply treatment to a severe injury (ie. bleeding, deep cut, sprain, break, etc.) before calling emergency services.
Depending on the situation, the majority of users would act first then contact emergency services.
One user mentioned that it really decided on what the situation was. If the injury needed immediate care, she would give care as needed then call, but if it was less urgent, then she would call first.
Devin C.
Devin is a construction worker for a company called Springs Construction. Outside of work, his hobbies include, camping, snowboarding, climbing, and volleyball.
Pains:
is CPR certified, but does not feel confident with his skills
does not know how to set a splint
his first aid kit only has items for minor injuries
Wants:
A first aid kit that has everything he will need in it
Refresher on some of the materials in his first aid kit
“I always bring a trauma kit with me in my car,in case of emergencies. I was not the one that packed it, it was just in my car. It has scissors, gause, medication, antibiotics, ibuprofen, tape, bandaids, and a splint thing.”
Pain Points
Bringing a First Aid Kit
5 out of 6 users interviewed bring a first aid kit with them in their car, but only 2 out of the 5 keep it with them at all times. Every other user just keeps it in their car.
Packing First Aid Kit
4 out of the 6 users interviewed do not know what items they should bring with them on a camping trip.
Lack of knowledge
5 out of 6 users interviewed are CPR Certified. However only 2 Users felt comfortable assisting an injured party during an emergency. This was because they did not know what to do in an emergency.
Solution
The solution I came up with is to build an application for mobile that was one part assistance for building a first aid kit, and one part encyclopedia for the equipment and medication that will be packed in the first aid it. I also want to add a feature for contacting emergency services and getting directions to the nearest medical facility in the event of an emergency.
The reason I am focusing heavily on the encyclopedia portion of the application is due to user interview answers. According to my findings in the user research, most users would apply treatment in an emergency before contacting emergency services, especially if the user is outside of civilization (e.g. camping).
Feature Set
Recommended First Aid Kit
Users will be prompted with a short questionnaire about the activity they will be doing. Once completing the questionnaire, the app will recommend a first aid/ trauma kit for the user to purchase. It will also give the user a list of all of the items within the kit, so the user can build their own kit with the items they already have.
Emergency Button and Survey
In the event of an emergency where the user may not be near a medical facility (e.g. camping in the wilderness), users may need to act fast. Clicking on the emergency button will prompt the user to complete a short survey about the emergency. Once completed the user will be recommended treatment based on the answers provided.
Video and Photo about how to use different medical equipment
In the event of a true emergency, acting fast is one of the most important steps. However, during the user interviews, many users did not know how to apply a splint. Using this feature will give the user a step by step informational guide/video on how to use certain equipment during an emergency.
Must Have
Emergency Button to Call Emergency Services
Emergency Survey to Determine Treatment
Video/ Written instruction of how to use first aid equipment
Could Have
Email User with list of First Aid Kit Items
Medical Survey for building a kit
Medical Facility Near Me Feature
Recommended First Aid Kit Items
Future Addition
Sign In/ Sign Up
Newsletter
Subscription
Site Map
My main focus for this site map was to make the user experience as simple as possible. Users will be using the app during an emergency to find treatment for potentially life threatening situations. The app needs to be as simple to use a possible with maximum 3 pathways to get to any location.
Building a First Aid Kit
Users will be prompted with questions about the activity, # of days, and # of people, along with a quick medical survey about possible medicines that need to be added to the first aid kit.
After finishing the survey, users will be given a recommended first aid kit along with the items that are included in the first aid kit if the user already has some of the items. The user will also be able to email themselves a copy of the list.
How to Use function
Users will be able to search a catalog of different medical items that they will have in their first aid kit.
This feature will give the user information about the medical equipment and how to properly use it to another person in cases of emergency. There will be:
Informational video
Description of the item
Step by Step of how to use the item
Medical Facilities near me button
Contact Emergency Services button
Emergency Survey
During an Emergency, users will be prompted to fill out a quick survey (to help the application know what happened). Once the user fills out the survey, they will be given information of the best treatment for the emergency along with prompts to call emergency services and medical facilities near the user.
Medical Facility Near User
In the event of an emergency, users will be able to find the nearest medical facility near them, and be prompted to open up their maps to get directions. They will also be able to change the location to other near by facilities as well.
Medication Information
Users will be able to find information about different medications that may be in their first aid kit. This feature will give them information regarding when not to use the medications, allergens, and dosages.
Branding and UI Kit
For the UI Component set, I focused heavily on unifying clickable elements through color and size. A big purpose of this app is for people to use it during medical emergencies. This means that my app needs to be accessible to everybody, including people that are panicking and potentially have shaky hands. To solve this problem I made sure that any element that provided resources for emergencies were the CTA color, to make it easily identifiable; and all of the interactable elements had a pixel height of 50 for ease of pressing.
Low Fidelities
My main focus for the Low Fidelities was to focus heavily on the Call to Actions. With an application that focuses heavily on safety, these CTA’s would be the backbone of navigation for any user during a medical emergency.
How to Use
The How to Use section allows the users to search a catalogue of items that may be in their first aid kit, and learn how to apply these medical equipment to prepare for an emergency. This section will be an informative video along with a step by step instruction on how to use the equipment properly.
Emergency Survey
In the event of an emergency, users will be able to fill out a quick questionnaire about what happened, and receive the recommended treatment. This section also prompts users to contact emergency services, and find the nearest medical facility.
Building a Kit
Users will be able to fill out a questionnaire about the activity they will be performing, the number of people going, and the amount of time they will be gone for. They will then finish a medical survey to determine what medications to bring, and be given a recommendation of which first aid kit to buy. Along with this recommendation, there will also be a list of all of the items included in the first aid kit.
Medical Facility Near User
In the event of an emergency, users will be able to find the nearest medical facility. This feature can be found on the home page, the emergency survey page, and the equipment pages under the how to use tab.
Medication Page
The Medical page allows a user to gather information about different medications that may be in their first aid kit. On this page, users can find information about when to take the medications, and the dosages of the medication.
View High Fidelity Designs
What I Learned
How I tackled this project.
My home town, Colorado Springs, is a hotspot for outdoor activities and exploration. Being on the outskirts of the Rocky Mountain National Park, provides people with climbing, hiking, camping, mountain biking, etc. However with these activities stems injuries. I wanted to focus my app design on injury prevention, and response.
I started this project by identifying pain points through user interviews. During the interviews, I discovered that most of the users were CPR certified, but did not feel confident acting in an emergency situation. This pain point was the backbone behind my project. I decided to create an app dedicated to building first aid kits for any outdoor activities, and having a catalog to inform users how to use certain first aid equipment.
What I Learned
I wanted to focus my energy on making this app as simple and efficient as possible. If this were to become a real app, people would use this to seek medical attention/advice in a true emergency when away from civilization. With this in mind, I wanted to make the navigation through the app simple and obvious, so that a user that is not in the right head space could use it properly. This was definitely a learning curve, but I am very glad that I decided to focus on making this app, because it gave me a better understanding of accessibility design.
What I would do Differently
During the user testing, I unknowingly skewed the results by testing 2 medical professionals. My mentor mentioned that if I were to test medical professionals for this app, I should test 2 groups. Average users (non-medical professionals), and medical professionals. This is something that I will keep in mind in future user interviews and user testings.
Future Additions
If I were to work on this in the future, I have plans to add a CPR counter to the app. This counter will be an option on any emergency screen throughout the app, and will give the user an audible and visual cue to allow the user to keep pace with compressions. On this screen, users will also be able to call emergency services as well.
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