Project Type:
Role:
Client/User:
Date:
Location:
Service Design
UX Researcher/ Designer
Lead Prototyper
Current and former
top-tier athletes
August 2023
Austin, Texas
Helio Health
service design projects
Description:
Helio Health is a project that seeks to integrate physical therapy and mental healthcare in order to provide patients with comprehensive support during their healing process. By combining these two essential aspects of wellness, Helio Health aims to address the whole person, not just their physical symptoms, and provide a more holistic approach to healthcare. The project aims to alter the gaps in care for athletes that we identified during our research and improve the overall wellbeing of patients during their rehabilitation process.
Along side a team of three other colleagues, we interviewed current and former athletes and studied their journeys through rehabilitation after sports injuries. We assessed their satisfaction with the type of care they received and designed a place to address the pain points that existed in that care system.
Our findings unearthed notable insights, revealing that athletes, well-versed in the meticulous care of their bodies during training, often found themselves with limited autonomy when it came to decisions about interventions for injury repair. Moreover, our research highlighted a notable gap in acknowledging the mind-body connection, particularly in the context of the athletes' return to the playing field. Concerns about potential reinjury and fears of not reaching their pre-injury performance levels were recurrent themes that we identified and aimed to address in our proposed design.
Our proposal was a health center that included a gym, sectioned off areas to conduct physical therapy and education about mental wellness and sports psychology, as well as, a choreographed care system that matched each athlete with a team of experts including a physical therapist, mental health specialist and an M.D. who co-create a care plan with the athlete to address their specific needs. The physical structure of this facility was also vital. Its design is meant to enforce the integral connection our mind and body possess by creating an outward space dedicated to physical therapy while providing inward more private areas to address mental and emotional therapy. The high ceilings and large windows gave athletes a bright and familiar setting, while the small rooms with walls offered a cozier space to address their mental wellness with their team of therapists.
Goal:
How might we combine physical therapy and mental healthcare so that patients receive holistic, comprehensive support throughout their healing journey?
Approach:
Create a space that was familiar and welcoming to athletes that would offer multiple ways of approaching their physical and mental health within one visit to the facility.
Research Methods:
1) Performed secondary research of existing resources and facilities available for the rehabilitation of current and former athletes focusing on the whole person and how the mental and physical intertwined.
2) Conducted in-depth interviews with high-level athletes to assess their experience receiving medical care during and after significant injuries. Assessing their satisfaction (mentally and emotionally) of the process and efficacy of the treatments they received.
Solution:
Helio-Health Center
a gym combined with a clinic that offers mental health, PT, and a physician’s care all in one building.
Upon their first visit, the client meets with a “match-maker” who helps them fill out paperwork and talks with them about their needs and goals. The client is then “matched” with a team of clinicians and therapists customized to their unique needs. After the team has reviewed the client’s file, they meet with the client to collaborate on a personalized care plan along-side the client, answering questions and concerns. The client returns to center for agreed upon therapies and maintenance.
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