A pilot community-based awareness campaign supporting a brand new Lung Cancer Screening mobile unit launching in 2025 for Cedars-Sinai.
Cedars-Sinai Cancer Research Center for Health Equity
+ 14 weeks, Jan - Apr 2024 (Sponsored Studio)
+ 20 weeks, May - Oct 2024 (Fellowship)
+ SoCal residents who have a history of smoking at least 20 packs a year and are between 50-80 years old. (Qualification to get a Lung Cancer Screening according to USPSTF)
+ Those who belong to underserved communities, specifically Latinx, African American, LGBTQ+ and Korean populations.
During the 14-week sponsored studio I was in charge of UX Research, team project management, research synthesis and concept development. I also created prototype mockups for an app-based screening scheduling system as well as collaborated on the overall campaign visual direction.
At my 20-week fellowship, I collaborated with one other fellow on refining the campaign direction, performing user testing of the campaign materials with focus groups, as well as facilitating co-design sessions with stakeholders to deliver the production-ready campaign to Cedars-Sinai.
“Isaac is not only a very talented Interaction Designer he is articulate, collaborative, personable and a natural leader.”
- JonDelina Buckley, Instructor @ ArtCenter College of Design
There are many barriers acting against potential patients for Lung Cancer Screening along the user journey, including social, economic, and cultural barriers unique to underserved communities. These include fears and apprehension caused by past medical trauma, lack of health literacy, and language hurdles.
“Through this campaign we would love to raise overall Lung Cancer Screening Rates by at least 10%, and also build a higher patient retention rate with yearly screenings.” - Cedars-Sinai
During the Sponsored Studio:
The overall goal was to represent authentic experiences through research-supported design. Design proposals were built primarily on research synthesis to learn the nuances of how lung cancer affects our target audience. Synthesis and strategy included affinity mapping of collected secondary research, expert interviews, and creation of a current state service blueprint to establish the opportunities for design intervention.
During the Fellowship:
Design proposals and messaging from the sponsored studio went through virtual focus group user testing and validation with community partners through Cedars-Sinai. Through synthesis of test findings and co-design sessions with Cedars-Sinai stakeholders, the final campaign proposal was delivered to Cedars-Sinai for implementation in 2025.
+ Understand the mechanisms behind communication between healthcare provider and patient, such as trust, language, and literacy.
+ Explore how recent technological changes in care for healthcare providers might provide new opportunities for messaging.
+ Understand what the Lung Cancer Screening process entails, including various statistics, risk factors & eligibility requirements.
+ Understand the barriers and pain points experienced by Underserved Communities in Los Angeles with regards to Lung Cancer Screening.
+ Develop a strong advocacy campaign informed by research to increase Lung Cancer Screening rates and health literacy.
The service blueprint below describes the current pathway that a potential patient typically goes through for Lung Cancer Screening. A common problem is that due to numerous points of friction, patient drop off is very frequent and many people do not see the Lung Cancer Screening process through. Another important note is that this process also occurs yearly, a fact that many people also tend to forget. There therefore are many opportunities for design intervention where the campaign and mobile unit can help increase retention rates and therefore screening rates.
The process in 4 steps:
Research > Synthesis > Opportunities > Collaboration
Increasing Healthcare Literacy through an Educational Component
+ Education boosting activities as well as periodic health checks were the most effective at curbing tobacco use according to research. Increasing healthcare literacy must remain an essential goal in our campaign concept.
Building Trust through Family and Community
+ Family and community is a commonly held value among many non-native groups living in the United States. These include but are not limited to Hispanic, Asian American, African American, and Black Caribbean populations located in lower socio-economic areas of Los Angeles. Maintaining family narrative is therefore an important aspect to helping build trust through the campaign.
Increasing Screening Rates and Retentions through Visibility
+ Using testimonials and community representation in the campaign, the goal is to empower people and increase Lung Cancer Screening rates.
Research
User behaviors were first observed and documented. Through affinity mapping, trends and behavioral groups were found.
Smokers are proportionally more represented in the lower socio-economic strata of society, leading to higher occurrences of lung cancer. Many people from underserved communities do not have the practice of regular visits to Primary Care Physician (PCP) due to cultural upbringing, monetary concerns, geospatial concerns, or past trauma.
Synthesis
Once behavior groups were formed, pain points were investigated as well as the correlations across groups.
Patient Pain Points
- Lack of health literacy
- Limited time
- Poor informatics
- Fatalistic perceptions
- Fears of the unknown
- Distrust in the US healthcare system
- Language barriers for ESL patients
Healthcare Professional Pain Points
- High rate of patient drop off along the lung cancer screening process
- Low healthcare literacy among underserved populations
- Low patient retention rate due to lack of knowledge lung cancer screening is a yearly procedure
- Patients inaccurately describe personal health history due to lack of trust, language barriers, fear of judgement, taboo topic, or lack of memory
Opportunities
Upon looking at both affinity map and current state service blueprint, design opportunities were identified where we could perform intervention with the campaign.
+ Build awareness and increase community visibility
+ Increase healthcare literacy among general public through education
+ Create conversation starters in PCP offices
+ Feature voices from community leaders to challenge cancer taboos
Collaboration
During the fellowship, we also tested and validated design ideas with Stakeholders from Cedars-Sinai as well as community partners.
*Participant names have been redacted for privacy.*
Based on the research and user testing, we focused Screening Heroes as a campaign with a health education component, focusing on uplifting the voices of experienced community members and healthcare providers in lung cancer screening, to encourage conversation, destigmatization, and increased screening rates within these communities.
Anyone can become a Screening Hero. Screening Heroes are your health advocates, your friend who you knew went through screening, your healthcare providers, and those you find community and strength in.
Detailed case study description can be found by clicking this link.
Community Hero Archetype
Spiritual Leader (Religion / Belief)
The community leader respected by many, dedicated to uplifting people through faith, spirituality and support. This Screening Hero plays an important role in encouraging those who feel vulnerable and need strength.
Peers (Same aged friends)
The friend, the peer, the neighbor, the everyday community member. This Screening Hero normalizes lung cancer screening through shared experiences and word-of-mouth. This is the everyday voice.
Family Member (Biological & Found)
The people at home who provide emotional support, encouragement, and solace. This Screening Hero advocates for the patient’s health and play a foundational role in long term emotional support.
Healthcare Hero Archetype
Informative Doctor (PCP / Radiologist)
The subject matter expert on lung cancer screening. This Screening Hero provides education and transparency about the lung cancer screening the process.
Attentive Caregiver (Nurse / Technologists)
The navigator and caregiver in lung cancer screening. This Screening Hero provides comforting support inside a healthcare sphere and answers more emotional needs.
Spearheading this project gave me invaluable experience in working under a healthcare context, where there are unique nuances and considerations when working with sensitive populations.
Most significantly was working directly with stakeholders and community representatives on this project, which taught me that conversations build empathy, an ingredient necessary for creating and innovating in the healthcare sector. While systemic oppression and injustice cannot be undone through one campaign, bringing people together can help in the following ways:
+ Learning from people and their experiences to reimagine the audience.
+ Getting early buy-in through early involvement of community members in the research process.
+ Designing and creating with and for care — including for those on the fringe and underserved.
A community-led and centered design process aims to help researchers like myself gain ground in learning and understanding to unpack users' needs, values, and motivations. Continuous conversations with community members helped us build a more effective strategy for the campaign, centering empowerment and encouragement and design with care.
