BeeWell

Supporting adolescents to enhance their mental well-being and foster interaction and community

Duration

11 Weeks

My Role

Product Manager

UX/UI Designer

User Researcher

Data Analyst

Team

Daliana Solis Solis

Hanh Binh Nguyen

Patrick Lam

Disciplines

UX Design

User Research

User Testing

Prototyping

Data Collection

Data Analysis

Tools

Figma

Google Form

Google Sheets

Miro

My Role

Throughout the project, I conducted over 7 hours of interviews, assisted in the data analysis, and contributed to the design process. Additionally, I conducted a comparative analysis of various mental health applications as part of the design phase.

illustration-world-mental-health-day-awareness_52683-135519.jpg_w=1380&t=st=1699227169~exp

The Problem

Adolescents Struggle to Openly Discuss Mental Health

The project's objective is to conduct interviews with adolescents—ages 13-18—to gain insight into their health needs, daily health practices, and challenges relating to mental health.

During the user interviews, we discovered that many adolescents face difficulties when managing their mental well-being, such as openly discussing their feelings and mental health with others.

Our team's mission is to offer support for adolescents in managing their mental health more effectively.

The Solution and Product

Adolescent Mental Health Journal and Forum

Objective

Supporting adolescents to better manage their mental health.

Features

Mood Tracker

Journal

Mood Statistics

Online Community Forum

UX Research

Investigating Adolescent Mental Health: Conducting 20+ Online Interviews and Data Analysis

To better understand adolescents' mental health, we conducted over 20 interviews with adolescents. To ensure anonymity, the interviews were conducted online, giving participants the option to keep their cameras off.

Methods: Online interview via Zoom.

Data Collection Procedures: While conducting the interviews, other team members noted participants' responses. We transcribed recorded interviews and stored them in the team's Google Drive for analysis. The quantitative data collected via a post-interview survey was transferred into Google Sheets for analysis.

Questions Asked:

Demographics
- Age, gender, ethnicity, race
Internet Usage
- Their opinion and experience using the Internet for health information
Family and School
- Family and school dynamic
- Challenges they face in these environments
Mental Health
- How do they feel on a daily basis and why
- How they cope with issues
- What online resources do they use

Data Analysis

65% of Adolescents Report Stress and Anxiety: The Challenges of Expressing Feelings and Seeking Mental Health Support

We discovered that many adolescents do not share their feelings openly with others. Participants stated feeling shy, embarrassed, and fearful of being a burden to others as barriers to sharing their feelings and mental health.

However, some individuals were more willing to share with others only if they were asked, if the issues affected their relationship with others, or if someone they trusted initiated the conversation.

Common Mental Health Issues & Triggers

65% - Reported feeling stressed or anxious
61% - School related triggers
- Exams, homework, peer competition, college apps

Coping Strategies

Social media
- Tiktok, YouTube, Pinterest
Entertainment
- Video games, online comics
Talking to friends

Sharing About Their Mental Health

70% - Talk to friends only
Do not share because:
- Embarrassment
- Negative family stigma
- Burden feeling
- The person may not understand
- Fear of judgment
- Only share if others share first

Sketches

Creating a Mobile App to Support Adolescents' Mental Health: Mood Tracking, Journaling, and Anonymous Forums

We learned that many adolescents struggle to openly share their feelings and talk about their mental health. When asked about ways technology can help, some participants suggested ideas such as mood trackers, online therapy, and anonymous online forums.

The team recognized the lack of mental health platforms with anonymous community forums, similar to Reddit or Quora, where users can ask questions, talk, and share.

We looked at competitor applications such as mood journals, mental health trackers, and Reddit to create sketches for the features below. We then combined our sketches based on similar design patterns to create our wireframes.

We decided to design a mobile application with these features:

Mood Tracker

Users are interest in mood monitoring.

Journal

Studies show the benefits of journaling. This feature enables users to express emotions, identify triggers, and associate colors with feelings.

Online Community Forum

Allows adolescents to discuss their emotions and problems anonymously. Participants stated they had difficulty talking to others about their well-being; an anonymous platform encourages users to feel more comfortable sharing with others.

Wireframes to Mockups

Turning Wireframes to Mockups

Following the development of our final set of sketches, we created our wireframes. Due to time constraints, we transformed these wireframes into mockups without conducting prior usability testing.

Mood Tracker

Visual tracking of the user’s mood through colors, in which users pick a color that best represents their mood for the overall day during their daily journaling.

Journal

Journaling allows users to write about their emotions, what makes them feel such a way, and select a color associated with their emotions.

Online Community Forum

Enabl users to post and comment anonymously, where they can converse with others about their emotions and problems.

New Features Added After Wireframes

These features were added because of feedback

Statistics

Users will rate their day from 1-10. This data is then collected and used to develop a visual graph as a mood summary.

Resource Page

A resource hub, providing users with access to online mental health materials

Prototype

Conclusion

Empowering Adolescents through Mental Health Support and Connections

In a project aimed at supporting adolescents in managing their mental well-being, our team conducted over 20 online interviews to gain insights.

The research revealed that 65% of adolescents face stress and anxiety, with school-related triggers being prominent. Many struggle to express their feelings due to embarrassment and fear of judgment.

To address these challenges, we designed a mobile app named "BeeWell" with features including a Mood Tracker, a Journal, and an Online Community Forum for anonymous sharing. The app intends to foster interaction, community, and mental health support among adolescents.

watercolor-janeiro-branco-illustration_52683-78082.jpg_w=1380&t=st=1699226833~exp=16992274

Limitations and Challenges

Extensive Interviews and Lack of Usability Testing

Time

Due to the lack of clarity on the problem, we had to conduct interviews with over 15 individuals to gain a deeper understanding. Creating interview questions, recruiting participants, scheduling interviews, and conducting interviews were time-consuming. This limited our time from refining the designs and conducting usability testing.

Usability Testing

Due to the project's scope and time constraints, the team was unable to conduct usability testing to validate our solution and refine the designs based on user feedback.

Reflection

What I Learned: Undefined Problems and Importance of Interviews

Finding Problems Through Research

I learned that, as we dive deeper into a pain point, we can uncover issues. We found articles regarding the absence of mental health support in adolescents, leading us to our research.

Value of Interviews

I had the opportunity to conduct extensive interviews for the first time and discovered that interviews provide more insight into problems, revealing information not easily obtainable through surveys. We learned from interviews that adolescents face barriers talking about their mental health to family and friends.