Service design for hiv testing in Sweden
With A focuse on Immigrants



This is the thesis project of my master program. Based on my initiative for the topic, I chose to cooperate with two local non-profit organizations: Noaks Ark Småland and Halland, and RFSL Krononberg to get an in-depth view around the sensitive focus.



Background



In 2018, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains a social stigma in many different cultures. In Sweden because of the advanced treatment for HIV and people's open attitude towards it, it is less stigmatized when compared to other societies. Since 2003 the annual number of people who immigrate to Sweden is increasing drastically. A significant amount people come from different cultures with different backgrounds. In today’s Swedish society, immigrants make up a portion of the population that cannot be neglected. The Swedish healthcare system is not ready for this demographic change. The social stigma of HIV along with other things, like anxiety and fear of positive test result, create barriers of not taking an HIV test. Looking into deficiencies of current HIV testing services by field research that helps to understand reasons behind the dilemma.


The purpose of this project in to create a more inclusive HIV testing service for the healthcare system in Sweden.



Field research at Noaks Ark, Växjö



entrance



waiting area



a big table in the waiting area



a armchair next to the entrance



two separate testing rooms



testing room with a table and two chairs



PATIENT JOURNEY



( FAST PROTOTYPING )



Antibody test & Nucleic acid test




There are two types of HIV testing services: antibody test and neocleic acid test, which provided by local hospitals, clinic and non-profit organizations like RFSL and Noaks Ark. After my field research and previous experience I drew two patient journeys of two distinctive testing services.




Process of nucleic acid testing






Process of antibody testing





Participatory
design
Workshop



A workshop took place at Noaks Ark småland and halland

where people go for HIV rapid tests.



In this participatory design workshop, after presenting the current processes of two current HIV testing services I asked participants to comment in each stage of the two different process and write down their suggestions to improve them. Participants gave me a lot of comments and suggestions in each stage, especially the pre-testing stages: before patients actually go to a test point, and testing stages where patients might or will meet others in a test point.



Patient journey maps of two testing services



Because of the overall low patient experience in pre-testing stages and testing stages where patients interact with other people, I decided to focus on those two parts in the patient journey. Accordingly, an app and testing guidelines are the focus of the service design.





Prototyping & Testing



App design



Because of the overall low patient experience in pre-testing stages and testing stages where patients interact with other people, I decided to focus on those two parts in the patient journey. Accordingly, an app and testing guidelines are the focus of the service design.











The app consists of three parts: information, booking and consulting. I decided to make a simple framework of the app because it should be an tool that is easy to access for immigrants. In the information part, there are different videos to show users HIV and testing related topics, which make it easy to understand despite users' language skills. In the booking part, users can choose to book an appointment at a local test point. The last part is consulting, if users find they are still confused and not sure about going for a test, they can choose to talk with a volunteer about their situation.



Logo & App icon




There are two types of HIV testing services: antibody test and neocleic acid test, which provided by local hospitals, clinic and non-profit organizations like RFSL and Noaks Ark. After my field research and previous experience I drew two patient journeys of two distinctive testing services.








Graduate Exhibition



Infographic banner



Scan the qr code and
check out the app
prototype



made by adobe xd



Type



Service design, Application design,

UX design, UI design, graphic design.


​



Team



Individual thesis project: 15 weeks

Cooperators: RFSL Kronoberg

& Noaks Ark Småland and Halland



My role



Design research, Field research, Ideation, Prototyping, Testing, Iteration.