TrackMe: Food Intolerance Discovery App

Because of the sex-gender differences that are shown in a diversity of physiological and psychological factors, it can be inferred that the clinical presentation of symptoms as well as treatment strategies in females and males may differ. However, women are underrepresented in most relevant clinical trials. This leads to an unintentional gender bias in health care.

My goal in this project is to advocate for a more gender-orientated approach in medical care setting. Such a change could improve cisgender patient care for gender-specific diseases. The pathophysiology of IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) is multifactorial with sex-gender factors seeming to play important roles. Because IBS patient care is for the most part sex-blind, I am designing an individualized patient experience which factors in sex and gender.

Research Goals:

• What is IBS exactly? What system is already in place for IBS patients post-diagnosis?

• Why are females with IBS more often readmitted than males with IBS?

• Does an implicit gender bias truly exist in US healthcare? If so, why? What is being done to remedy it?

 
Interviewees:

• 3 IBS Patients; 2 female, 1 male

• 2 Transition Care (TC) Nurses

• 1 Nurse Practitioner

Several studies showed that women receive IBS diagnoses more often than men do. While some symptoms are the same for males and females, a few are exclusive to or more prominent in women, likely due to female sex hormones.

 

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic digestive disorder that affects the large intestine.

While anyone can develop IBS, the condition is more common in women, affecting from 1.5 to 3 times more females than males.

— The epidemiology of IBS

It is a functional disease that can only be maintained but not cured. Having this disease means that patients need to adopt a significant lifestyle shift (especially eating) for the rest of their life. Most patients find it difficult to fully embrace the situation directly. Additionally, patients need to fundamentally change their eating style. It is a great challenge in-between behavior change and learning. As a result, it is a place worth exploring. From interviewing patients diagnosed with IBS, I’ve learned that there is a long phase of self-discovery. There is no one list of foods to avoid for everyone diagnosed with IBS. I divided the patient’s experience into 5 phases.

I explored three different solutions. Although I did not end up going through with options 1 and 2, learning why these would not be as effective helped inform my design decisions for option 3. Here are some of my initial ideas:

1. Flashcards for doctors treating IBS to learn about the differences between male and female symptoms.

2. AI chatbot that answers Q&A for newly diagnosed patients.

3. Food Tracker + Visual Symptom Analysis app.

The two features that distinguish TrackMe from other diet management apps are: 1. users communicate IBS specific issues with their doctors, and 2. analyze their own symptom trend reports.

I reconnected with my interviewees to test the wireframes. I used paper prototypes and jotted down notes after watching them run through the prototype:

At this point, I created the high fi wireframes after reviewing the confusion points in the low fi wireframes. I used Sketch and Illustrator to refine the visual style. I wanted to strike a balance between a serious topic and a friendly user interface.

I found that one of the most frustrating parts of this disease is that it affects everyone differently. I’ve learned from my interviews that each patient has to undergo a self-discovery process of what they can and cannot do to manage their symptoms. This article, written by an author who has dealt with the disease for years, explains why. I received positive feedback that this app is providing patients with a novel communication tool. TrackMe visually compartmentalizes the female body better horizontally. Patients should use this proactively. TrackMe is useful in cases where the symptoms are managed for months but then have a sudden flare-up. For the scope of this project, the app focuses on cisgender females of a certain age bracket.

IBS affects the quality of life, but it is manageable. Operating from this standpoint today illustrates gaps in understanding. What’s the novel way to communicate to yourself and doctors? This project is pointing at gender bias. TrackMe provides cisgender females with a unique experience, thereby setting an example for specialized care. TrackMe aims to close the gap between doctor interpretation and female experience. Experts treat women as smaller men in too many medical settings.