Research Objective

• The research aimed to facilitate EPT’s website redesign by investigating ways to enhance its guidance and support for individuals during highly distressing circumstances. Additionally, the initial version of the prototype was tested as part of this process.

Research Details

Research Duration: 2 weeks

Total Individual Interviews: 10

7 - primary users (women who experienced ectopic pregnancy),

3 - secondary users (partners of women who experienced ectopic pregnancy)

Duration of interviews: 45-60 minutes

Tools: Zoom (for interviews), Invision (prototype testing)

Important note: Because of the nature of this project I received specialist training in interviewing people after difficult and traumatic experiences.

How did we recruit: Ectopic pregnancy forums online

Interviews scenario

• 3-4 questions related to their journey in discovering ectopic pregnancy, seeking information, finding support, and understanding subsequent measures.

• 3-4 questions about their interaction with a trust/charity they selected for assistance during their experience

• Evaluation of the existing website and sharing of viewpoints.

• Testing prototype of a new website

What I delivered

• User interview scenario

• Research findings report

• Prototype, A/B test findings report

• User profiles

• Empathy maps

• Research helped in making final design decisions for website redesign and also was used as a guide for planning out future content and features

Key Takeaways from research that influenced design decisions

1. Very easy access to get in touch with support team - participants communicated that the initial interaction with this website often occurs during moments of high stress, demanding immediate access to assistance. Hence, the visibility and clarity of a contact number for rapid action should be prioritised.

   Direct quote from the interview: “Although the information is in front of you, when you stress sometimes you just don’t see anything, so that’s good to have something like that there.”

2. More personal approach - among the participants, 60% (6 out of 10) expressed dissatisfaction with the medical terminology and approach used on the website. According to their feedback, the website should adopt a more inviting and friendly tone. For instance, instead of using phrases like 'patient's experience,' they suggested using 'your experience' to make the content more relatable.

3. Don’t neglect secondary users - secondary users were generally less satisfied than primary users; especially non-traditional couple partners & expressed the need to be more approached on the website and get more guidance on how they can best support their loved ones.

   Direct quote from the interview :"Partners have a very important role to play, which equally comes from our challenge of how we can help our women get through an ectopic pregnancy, and so I'm a big advocate for seeing more information to help the partner to be able to support their woman."

4. Personal stories hold a huge value - all of the interviewees mentioned that the blog featuring personal stories about ectopic pregnancy made them feel comforted and it should be continued and be shown more prominently

   Direct quote from the interview : “Thanks to this stories you realise that this is actually quite common, originally the doctors talk to you like it is really uncommon and it is really dangerous, but looking at the EPT website I realised that although it is dangerous, quite a lot of people do go through things like this and it is not as bad as you thought and that settled me.”

Learnings from this project

It's essential to recognise that effective design goes beyond just solving problems; it creates an emotional connection with users.

This had to be reflected during interviews as well. While challenging and emotional at times, the in-depth interviews helped us map out user emotions and needs when seeking advice and support after receiving difficult news from a doctor. The research helped in making final design decisions for website redesign and also was used as a guide for planning out future content and features.

If I were to conduct this study again, I would consider conducting it in a focus group. I think that in this particular situation, a group discussion could potentially bring more valuable comments. Since the participants have gone through similar difficult experiences, the presence of other people with whom they could relate could make the conversation more natural and result in more insightful and inspiring results.