LAVI · UX Case Study
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Duration: 8 weeks
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Role: Certified UX Designer (solo)
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Figma
VS Code
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Section 03 of 12
03: User research
Understanding our users
A mixed-methods research approach was used to understand how Haitian and Hispanic immigrant adults navigate the U.S. healthcare system, combining secondary research, a screener survey, and moderated interviews conducted in participants' primary language.
Secondary research
Secondary research drawing on published studies and reports covering immigrant health literacy, language access in U.S. healthcare, and mobile health app usage in underserved communities.
Published health equity reports & journals
Screener survey
20 participants screened via community outreach, including Haitian and Hispanic community organizations. Filtered for immigrant status, primary language, and frequency of healthcare visits.
Google Forms · Community outreach
Moderated interviews
5 participants, 30 minutes each. Sessions conducted via video call in the participant's preferred language, English, Spanish, or Haitian Creole, to remove language as a barrier to honest feedback.
Zoom · Translated interview guide
63%
of interview participants left their last medical visit without fully understanding their diagnosis or next steps
Primary interview data, n=5
80%
of limited-English-proficient patients rely on a bilingual family member to interpret during appointments
Commonwealth Fund, 2023
48%
of Hispanic adults report having taken medication incorrectly at least once due to confusing label instructions
AHRQ Health Literacy Study
91%
of survey participants own a smartphone, making mobile-first the only viable design approach for this population
Screener survey, n=20
2 in 5
Haitian immigrant adults have delayed care specifically because they could not find a Creole-speaking provider
Haitian Health Foundation
74%
of participants said WhatsApp groups or Google Search are their first resource when a health question arises
Primary interview data, n=5
"The doctor kept saying 'hypertension' and 'lipid panel'. I just nodded. I didn't want to seem stupid. When I got home I tried to look it up but the websites were just as confusing. I didn't know if I was dying or if it was something simple."
"The prescription had three different instructions, take with food, don't take with dairy, call your doctor if you feel dizzy. I read it five times and still wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. My daughter is 14. She helped me translate but she didn't understand it either."
"I needed to find a doctor who speaks Creole and takes my insurance. I called six places. Two didn't speak Creole. Two didn't take Medicaid. One had a two-month wait. I just stopped trying and went to the emergency room."
Users rely on family members, including children, to interpret medical information, creating emotional burden and accuracy risks that can directly affect health outcomes.
Clinical terminology is the primary barrier, even when appointments include a professional interpreter.
Haitian Creole speakers feel significantly more underserved than Spanish speakers, who have more, though still insufficient, translated resources available.
Historical distrust of the medical system, rooted in country-of-origin experiences, actively discourages proactive care-seeking behavior.
Participants consistently prefer providers from their own cultural background when given the choice.
Community WhatsApp groups and word-of-mouth are cited as the most trusted sources of health information, more than any digital platform.
Smartphone ownership is near-universal (91%), but desktop access is low, mobile-first is not a design preference for this population, it is a necessity.
WhatsApp and YouTube dominate daily app usage in both communities, far ahead of any health-specific platform.
Users abandon apps quickly if they require more than 3 steps to complete a core task, simplicity is a non-negotiable design requirement.
Prescription labels are universally cited as the single most confusing health document, particularly dosage timing, food interactions, and refill procedures.
Many participants stop taking medications early because they feel better, not understanding that a full course is medically required.
Follow-up appointments are frequently missed due to confusion about scheduling systems, cost, and what the appointment is actually for.
Research synthesis
Users don't need more medical information, they need medical information they can actually understand, trust, and act on. In the language they think in. At a reading level that doesn't require a medical degree. Delivered through the device that's already in their pocket.
LAVI's four core features, symptom checker, medication guidance, doctor finder, and health literacy education, were defined directly by the four pain points surfaced in this research. The following section introduces the two primary personas these findings produced.