Helsenett
To address the challenges faced by caregivers (Pårørende)
Overview
In this project, we focus on the challenges faced by caregivers like Sara, individuals who provide physical and emotional support to patients while struggling with emotional burdens, time constraints, and a lack of reliable health information.
Goal
Our goal is to develop solutions that empower them with centralized resources, social support, and stress-management tools. By integrating these solutions into Helsenorge, we aim to enhance an existing platform trusted by caregivers and healthcare professionals alike.
Problem
Caregivers are struggling without accessible tools and guidance to support patients effectively and reduce their own stress.
The healthcare system is under pressure with an aging population, a shortage of health personnel, and rising expectations for quality and accessibility. This gap between resources and patient needs leaves caregivers and families feeling unsupported and emotionally burdened.
Context Analysis: PESTEL, Stakeholder Mapping, and Trend Mapping
Solution
A digital platform that makes life easier for caregivers.
It gathers reliable health information in one place, provides personalized caregiving plans and resources, and offers interactive features to connect with professionals and other caregivers. In addition, it includes stress management tools to support caregivers’ well-being and reduce the strain on healthcare personnel.
Design Process
Understanding the needs through observation and empathy.
We interviewed two relatives of cancer patients and one researcher experienced in cancer care to understand emotional needs and system gaps. Keeping an open mindset helped us uncover unexpected insights and refine our questions. Through active listening and observing tone and body language, we learned how relatives navigate uncertainty and what support they lack, while the researcher’s perspective revealed challenges patients face during recovery and the gaps in current healthcare services.
Field Observation – Understanding Caregivers in Real Context
Point of View
We defined a clear challenge to support caregivers like Sara through practical, research-based solutions.
In this phase, we concentrated on defining a clear and actionable challenge to address the needs of caregivers like Sara. By analyzing research findings and distilling them into actionable insights, we simplified the complexity of caregiving challenges into manageable solutions. Using personas and “How Might We” questions, we gained a deeper understanding of Sara’s struggles as a caregiver for her husband.
How might we enhance Helsenorge to better support caregivers
in navigating their challenges while improving their overall well-being?
Prototype
The initial step in our project was to understand the core challenges faced by cancer patients and their families. After conducting interviews and gathering insights, we initially created a mobile application prototype. However, after incorporating feedback and conducting usability tests, we realised that transitioning to a web application would be more practical and effective. Usability tests played a critical role in this transition by helping us identify the limitations of our mobile app design and the preferences of our target users.
Reflection
We learned that understanding caregivers’ real needs through empathy and collaboration is key to creating meaningful, supportive healthcare solutions.
The project journey was a creative exploration of caregiver challenges and solutions, building on Helsenorge as a trusted healthcare platform to improve usability and relevance for caregivers. Key insights revealed the emotional burdens and stress caregivers face, the difficulty of accessing reliable health information, and the lack of tailored support tools. To address these, we adopted a user-centered approach through direct engagement with caregivers, an iterative design process shaped by feedback, and a design thinking mindset that emphasized empathy and problem-solving.
The proposed solutions included a centralized caregiving section, personalized tools for stress reduction and support, and community networks that enable caregivers to share experiences. Ultimately, collaboration, empathy, and innovation guided the process, resulting in solutions that both empower caregivers and enhance the overall value of Helsenorge.
