App for Peer Supported Substance Use Recovery

User-Centered Design including generative and evaluative research and iterative prototyping for a collaborative addiction recovery mobile app. Supported by 2018 Americal Hospital Association (AHA) Innovation Challenge 1st place award grant.

[2019]

Many organizations in the healthcare industry have adopted a peer supported care delivery process for individuals recovering from substance use. Peer Mobile App (PMA) for smartphones was envisioned as a tool to support secure communication, virtual check-in and resource sharing among coaches and clients, designed through a user-centered research process working closely with potential users and stakeholders.

Team

Jessica Pater, Victor Cornet, Ryan Ahmed, Sarah Colletta, Tammy Toscos (Parkview Research), Connie Kerrigan (Parkview Behavioral Health), Chanda Phelan (University of Michigan)

Objective

The user-centered design process aimed to establish and integrate the following core features of PMA: 1) Secure messaging, voice and video calls with end-to-end encryption, 2) Personalized shared resource library and appointment calendar, 3) Automated redirection of urgent requests and scheduled substitute coach delegation, and 4) Timeline and logged communication for reference.

Process

Focus Group and Card Sorting

Two focus groups utilizing a card sorting activity within a session were conducted respectively with individuals in recovery (clients) and with coach-client pairs to elicit requirements and prioritization of features within the envisioned PMA app.

Prototyping

Interactive app designs were created using Adobe XD from the focus group and card sorting findings with separate interfaces for clients and coaches.

Usability Testing

5 coaches and 5 clients tested the interactive prototype in individual usability testing sessions for usability assessment and feedback for improvement which were integrated in a second design iteration.

Would the user groups feel comfortable sharing when together in the same room? Focus group sessions were broken up in two phases: all together as coach-client pairs, then all coaches and all clients in separate rooms.

Examples of cards from sets created for recoverees and coaches used in card-sorting activity.

Outcome

PMA is in development to be used initially in multiple test sites for a pilot trial following positive responses from both clients and coaches.

Mobile app prototyped in Adobe XD following final iteration of design.

Publications