The research was comprised with the following methods;

• Secondary research

• Competitor analysis

• Interviews

• Survey

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Throughout the secondary research we found that 1 in 7 adults worldwide are living with sleep apnea with an estimated 80% of people with sleep apnea remain undiagnosed. On average, the cost of a sleep study in Australia is approximately $500. One of the most common treatments for sleep apnea is a CPAP machine. 

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Interviews

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The team an I, interviewed a range of people to get further insight on what would be the ideal platform. We reached out to 5 patients - 3 males & 2 females 3 x 30 - 45 years old 2 x 50 - 65 years old and 3 female doctors. From the user interviews we were able to gather some valuable feedback.

 

"Generally, it's hardly ever the case that someone comes in purely with the sleep complaint " - Doctor

 

"I just think when they start using sleep disorder, you know, that sounds bad." - Patient

 

" The sleep apnea problem is invisible, so something else takes priority and the sleep study is not done for the next two, three years. " - Doctor

 

" As it's not treated as a chronic condition there isn't much funding to access care." - Doctor

 

" Important to self-educate yourself to keep motivated and interested in what you're doing." - Patient

 

"GP can offer a bit more connection like, do the test." - Patient 

 

Notable trends with the interviewees were;

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• Patients experience some nervousness/anxiety when undertaking the sleep study

• Support in the 1st month of starting treatment may result in higher compliance rates

• Patient demographic/socio-economic status influences treatment outcomes

• Patients may trial a number of non-evidence based treatments before seeking professional help

• Patients may feel relieved upon receiving their diagnosis, followed by worry about cost of treatment

• Patients generally present with many health issues which tend to take precedence over poor sleep

• Partners are usually the motivating factor behind patients seeking professional help

• The cost of treatment and side effects from using the machine may result in non-compliance

 

Survey Insights

 

In conjunction to our interview research we conducted a sleep survey. The survey comprises a maximum of 28 questions. 21 responses collected. The demographic split was;

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• Gender: Female 62% - Male 38%

• Average Age: 25-65

• Employment Status: 72% Employed full-time

• Marital Status: 86% in a relationship

 

The awareness that came from the survey showed us that around 53% of patients would speak to a doctor and 47% wouldn't. Patients rule out sleep apnea entirely saying other factors affect their sleep. 25% believe that substance consumption and respiratory issues solely cause lack of sleep.

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Pivot - Challenges

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After the research was completed, the team and I came to realized that building a website in a very short amount of time was too large to fulfil with in relation to what the client has requested. We had to make an executive decision on what deliverables we would be able to commit too with the greatest impact to our customer. I arranged team meetings to get everyone's input on how we should progress and what deliverables could we commit to.  Myself and my co-leads on the project worked together to establish the best way forward. It was decided that we would design a website for patients and build a health care/doctor portal to show case those who want to follow through with connecting with a health care provider and those who seek to only book sleep tests and or educational information. Larger components that would require more time to build out were noted on the website but not fully functional. In the final handover, we would provide the client with recommendations based on the feedback and user testing we receive of the prototype we create. 

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Personas and Customer Journey

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We developed 2 personas and customer journey's based off the research as there were 2 distinct users. A compliant patient/user would seek treatment and followed through with the purchase of a CPAP machine. The non compliant patient/user would seek treatment, however they would not proceed treatment due to a number of factors one being cost. I was apart of the non compliant persona and customer journey team. We created Karen who is the non compliant persona. 

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