Leveraging Technology for Natural Disaster Recovery: A Hackathon Case Study

Tools

Figma

Miro

Pen/Paper

Zoom

Discipline

User-Centered Design

Interaction Design

Information Architecture

Accessibility and Inclusive Design

Team

Joel Ives - Project Lead

Ayami Cho - Design Lead

Daphne Li - Unicorn

Richie Hao - Research Lead

Timeline

October 29th

Climate-induced natural disasters have increased nearly 400% over the last 40 years meaning more and more people every year are affected. With so much emphasis on rebuilding infrastructure, the mental health recovery side is one of the most neglected aspects of a natural disaster.

The Goal

With just 7 hours to complete our research and prototype, our goal was to identify a handful of key issues people experience post natural disaster to build one app that creatively assists victims in one place.

Process Overview

  1. Research

    With only 7 hours to research and create a solution, time management and effective research strategy was necessary to keep us from going down too deep of a rabbit hole.

  2. Problem Definition

    With so many resources and facts about natural disaster recovery, affinity mapping was key for the team to recognize exactly what side of the issue we wanted to focus on.

  3. Ideation/Prototype

    Brainstorming sessions and limited time aligned the team to shoot directly for a high-fidelity solution.

Research Overview

Primary Research

To address this challenge, we embarked on a research phase, scouring resources like The Red Cross, SAMHSA, and research papers on natural disaster recovery. We established a baseline by examining the response to natural disasters and then delved into the mental health implications.

Secondary Research

An eye-opening statistic we encountered was that between 4–37% of natural disaster victims experienced PTSD or other forms of mental trauma. We also conducted a competitive analysis of disaster response resources to understand where their emphasis was, so we knew what to include and where we could focus our efforts better.

Pain Points

Through our research, we identified the following 3 key pain points that victims of natural disasters face.

#1

There is a predominant focus on short-term recovery solutions, with inadequate support for long-term mental distress assessments.

#2

There are a plethora of resources and contacts but no streamlined approach to guide victims toward the necessary recovery steps.

#3

There exists a lack of personalization based on the stage of emotional distress recovery.

Synthesis

From that competitive analysis, we created an affinity map to truly understand what was necessary and what areas could use more attention.

A common trend we identified was that any mental health resources out there required the user to come to the solution, rather than have the solution come to them. Understandably, that is not an easy thing after you’ve experienced a natural disaster, so we knew we had to make the reach out process as easy as possible, ie. downloading an app.

Ideation

The team conducted a solution brainstorming session and feature prioritization sessions to get on the same page about what features we wanted to focus on.

From there, we split into two teams. One team would handle the branding aspect and one team began building wireframes.

Given the short amount of time we had remaining, just 2 hours, the team as a whole jumped into building a high fidelity prototype.

Our comprehensive solution aimed to match victims with therapists, conduct mental health assessments, provide self-help resources, and foster community connections.

The solution statement encapsulated our vision: “Individuals impacted by natural disasters need easier and more convenient access to resources, long-term emotional distress support, and community empowerment because there is currently no stress-free approach to all of the issues that natural disasters cause.”

Solution

Impact Assessment

Although we were unable to test the prototype within the hackathon’s timeframe, we recognized this as an important future step. The initial challenge during the research phase led us to broaden our focus to encompass multiple aspects of natural disaster mental health.

Team Dynamics

Effective time management was crucial, and as the team lead, I employed time boxing techniques during research to maintain focus. Open communication and active involvement ensured that everyone was on the same page throughout the project.

Conclusion

Our hackathon journey highlighted the importance of addressing the long-term mental health recovery of natural disaster victims. While we managed to create a functional prototype and craft a creative solution within the limited timeframe, there is much work to be done in this critical domain. The urgent need for innovative solutions in the face of increasing natural disasters underscores the importance of our endeavor.

Disclaimer

This project was conducted through general Assembly as part of the uxdi immersive course I paid to enroll in. I had no contact with dupage dietitians and they are unaware that this solution has been created. 
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