Designing a Holistic Path to Pain Understanding
Designing a Holistic Path to Pain Understanding
Designing a Holistic Path to Pain Understanding
A digital health experience that helps users understand their pain and take control of their well-being
A digital health experience that helps users understand their pain and take control of their well-being
A digital health experience that helps users understand their pain and take control of their well-being
Client:
Client:
Client:
Caitlin West (Founder of 4alivio)
Caitlin West (Founder of 4alivio)
Caitlin West (Founder of 4alivio)
Team:
Team:
Team:
Two UX Designers
Two UX Designers
Two UX Designers
My Role:
My Role:
My Role:
UX Designer
Research • User Interviews • Usability Testing
UX Designer
Research • User Interviews • Usability Testing
UX Designer
Research • User Interviews • Usability Testing
Duration:
Duration:
Duration:
January 2024-May 2024
January 2024-May 2024
January 2024-May 2024
Reframing Pain Through a Holistic Lens
Reframing Pain Through a Holistic Lens
Reframing Pain Through a Holistic Lens
4alivio is a mobile app designed to help people with arthritis and chronic pain identify flare-up triggers and explore holistic ways to manage their symptoms. As part of my senior capstone project, I collaborated in a team of three to create a supportive, user-friendly experience that empowers users to recognize patterns in their pain and feel more in control of their health.
Our design process was grounded in in-depth user research, allowing us to create thoughtful, accessible solutions that reflect the physical, emotional, and lifestyle factors influencing chronic pain.
4alivio is a mobile app designed to help people with arthritis and chronic pain identify flare-up triggers and explore holistic ways to manage their symptoms. As part of my senior capstone project, I collaborated in a team of three to create a supportive, user-friendly experience that empowers users to recognize patterns in their pain and feel more in control of their health.
Our design process was grounded in in-depth user research, allowing us to create thoughtful, accessible solutions that reflect the physical, emotional, and lifestyle factors influencing chronic pain.
4alivio is a mobile app designed to help people with arthritis and chronic pain identify flare-up triggers and explore holistic ways to manage their symptoms. As part of my senior capstone project, I collaborated in a team of three to create a supportive, user-friendly experience that empowers users to recognize patterns in their pain and feel more in control of their health.
Our design process was grounded in in-depth user research, allowing us to create thoughtful, accessible solutions that reflect the physical, emotional, and lifestyle factors influencing chronic pain.
The Gap in Chronic Pain Care
The Gap in Chronic Pain Care
The Gap in Chronic Pain Care
Many people living with chronic pain are unaware of noninvasive, drug-free methods to manage their symptoms. This gap in awareness often leads to frustration, reliance on temporary relief, and low confidence in their ability to take control their health.
This prompted a key design question: "How might we integrate both holistic and medical approaches into 4alivio’s treatment feature to help users make informed, meaningful choices about their pain care?"
Many people living with chronic pain are unaware of noninvasive, drug-free methods to manage their symptoms. This gap in awareness often leads to frustration, reliance on temporary relief, and low confidence in their ability to take control their health.
This prompted a key design question: "How might we integrate both holistic and medical approaches into 4alivio’s treatment feature to help users make informed, meaningful choices about their pain care?"
Many people living with chronic pain are unaware of noninvasive, drug-free methods to manage their symptoms. This gap in awareness often leads to frustration, reliance on temporary relief, and low confidence in their ability to take control their health.
This prompted a key design question: "How might we integrate both holistic and medical approaches into 4alivio’s treatment feature to help users make informed, meaningful choices about their pain care?"
Bringing Holistic and Medical Care Together
Bringing Holistic and Medical Care Together
Bringing Holistic and Medical Care Together
The goal was to design a treatment feature that empowers people with chronic pain to better understand and manage their symptoms through clear insights and accessible tools. We focused on simplifying the interface, improving readability, and weaving both holistic and medical perspectives into the treatment feature. The result is a supportive, research-informed experience that helps users identify their pain triggers, track progress, and make more confident health decisions.
The goal was to design a treatment feature that empowers people with chronic pain to better understand and manage their symptoms through clear insights and accessible tools. We focused on simplifying the interface, improving readability, and weaving both holistic and medical perspectives into the treatment feature. The result is a supportive, research-informed experience that helps users identify their pain triggers, track progress, and make more confident health decisions.
Final Prototype
Final Prototype
Final Prototype
Designing With Empathy at the Core
Designing With Empathy at the Core
Designing With Empathy at the Core
We applied the Design Thinking framework to better understand how people manage chronic pain and the challenges they face in their daily lives. This approach kept our team grounded in empathy from the start, guiding our design decisions through research, ideation, and testing to create a more supportive and intuitive experience.
We applied the Design Thinking framework to better understand how people manage chronic pain and the challenges they face in their daily lives. This approach kept our team grounded in empathy from the start, guiding our design decisions through research, ideation, and testing to create a more supportive and intuitive experience.
Understanding Pain Through Research
Understanding Pain Through Research
Understanding Pain Through Research
Building on the initial customer discovery research, the team conducted in-depth interviews with 4alivio users to better understand their day-to-day experiences with chronic pain. These conversations focused on how users currently manage their pain and the challenges they face on the way.
Building on the initial customer discovery research, the team conducted in-depth interviews with 4alivio users to better understand their day-to-day experiences with chronic pain. These conversations focused on how users currently manage their pain and the challenges they face on the way.
Building on the initial customer discovery research, the team conducted in-depth interviews with 4alivio users to better understand their day-to-day experiences with chronic pain. These conversations focused on how users currently manage their pain and the challenges they face on the way.
Through this research, we identified three main insights that directly shaped our design direction:
Through this research, we identified three main insights that directly shaped our design direction:
Insight #1
Users rely on prescription medication but often lack clear information about potential side effects and long-term implications.
Insight #2
Users are proactive in seeking strategies to manage their pain and related conditions, showing openness to tools and guidance that support daily care.
Insight #3
Users want more control over their pain management and are receptive to holistic or alternative approaches alongside conventional treatments.
Understanding Users Across the Pain Journey
Understanding Users Across the Pain Journey
Understanding Users Across the Pain Journey
Three personas were developed — a patient, a western practitioner, and a nurse practitioner — to capture different perspectives within the chronic pain ecosystem. The patient persona highlights frustrations such as inconsistent tracking and unclear treatment information, while the clinician personas empathize evidence-based decision-making, safety concerns, and balancing between holistic and medical approaches.
Empathy and journey maps were also created to visualize the users' emotions and experiences, helping identify key moments of frustration and opportunity that informed the design of 4alivio.
Our team designed three personas — a patient, a western practitioner, and a nurse practitioner — to capture different perspectives within the chronic pain ecosystem. The patient persona highlights frustrations, like inconsistent tracking and unclear treatment information, while the clinician personas empathize evidence-based decisions, safety concerns, and the balance between holistic and medical approaches. We also created empathy and journey maps to visualize the users' emotions and experiences, helping us identify key moments of frustration and opportunity.
Bridging Gaps in Pain Care
Bridging Gaps in Pain Care
Bridging Gaps in Pain Care
We conducted a competitive analysis to understand how different apps support users in tracking and managing pain. Most competitors focused primarily on pain tracking, with only a few offering features related to treatment or symptom relief.
Wearable-integrated apps such as Quell, Hinge, and Enso Relief were also examined to explore how they connect data and user experience. This analysis revealed opportunities for 4alivio to bridge the gap between tracking and personalized, holistic care.
We conducted a competitive analysis to understand how different apps support users in tracking and managing pain. Most competitors focused primarily on pain tracking, with only a few offering features related to treatment or symptom relief.
Wearable-integrated apps such as Quell, Hinge, and Enso Relief were also examined to explore how they connect data and user experience. This analysis revealed opportunities for 4alivio to bridge the gap between tracking and personalized, holistic care.
We conducted a competitive analysis to understand how different apps support users in tracking and managing pain. Most competitors focused primarily on pain tracking, with only a few offering features related to treatment or symptom relief.
Wearable-integrated apps such as Quell, Hinge, and Enso Relief were also examined to explore how they connect data and user experience. This analysis revealed opportunities for 4alivio to bridge the gap between tracking and personalized, holistic care.
Laying the Foundation
Laying the Foundation
Building on insights from the existing 4alivio app and research findings, initial sketches and wireframes were created on the whiteboard. This hands-on approach helped visualize ideas for managing treatment options, anticipating external factors like weather, and integrating data from the wearable device. These early sketches established the foundation for digital wireframes, ensuring that every screen addressed real user pain points.
Building on insights from the existing 4alivio app and research findings, initial sketches and wireframes were created on the whiteboard. This hands-on approach helped visualize ideas for managing treatment options, anticipating external factors like weather, and integrating data from the wearable device. These early sketches established the foundation for digital wireframes, ensuring that every screen addressed real user pain points.
Building on insights from the existing 4alivio app and research findings, initial sketches and wireframes were created on the whiteboard. This hands-on approach helped visualize ideas for managing treatment options, anticipating external factors like weather, and integrating data from the wearable device. These early sketches established the foundation for digital wireframes, ensuring that every screen addressed real user pain points.
Learning From Users
Learning From Users
Learning From Users
We conducted usability testing with five participants to uncover pain points and observe how users navigated new concepts within the 4alivio app. This process identified navigation barriers and provided actionable feedback that guided the next round of design improvements.
We conducted usability testing with five participants to uncover pain points and observe how users navigated new concepts within the 4alivio app. This process identified navigation barriers and provided actionable feedback that guided the next round of design improvements.
We conducted usability testing with five participants to uncover pain points and observe how users navigated new concepts within the 4alivio app. This process identified navigation barriers and provided actionable feedback that guided the next round of design improvements.
Task #1
Task #1
Based on tomorrow’s weather, use for 4alivio app to make a treatment plan.
Based on tomorrow’s weather, use for 4alivio app to make a treatment plan.
Task #2
Task #2
Walk through how you would set up your device and change the intensity control to your liking with completing a treatment
Walk through how you would set up your device and change the intensity control to your liking with completing a treatment
Task #3
Task #3
You want to explore other treatment options that won’t cause nausea. Walk me through on finding other holistic treatments.
You want to explore other treatment options that won’t cause nausea. Walk me through on finding other holistic treatments.
4 out of 5 participants struggle to navigate to the treatment plan from the navigation bar over the anticipation of the weather treatment plan.
4 out of 5 participants struggle to navigate to the treatment plan from the navigation bar over the anticipation of the weather treatment plan.
Solution: highlight the day with anticipated weather with a red border.
Solution: highlight the day with anticipated weather with a red border.
All five participants were able to pair a device and complete a treatment session.
All five participants were able to pair a device and complete a treatment session.
Adding guidelines to ensure safety to users when completing a session.
Adding guidelines to ensure safety to users when completing a session.
4 out of 5 users were able to navigate the holistic treatment section.
4 out of 5 users were able to navigate the holistic treatment section.
Looking Ahead
Looking Ahead
Looking Ahead
If this project continued, future work could focus on integrating the Mount Mary team's design into the beta platform and adding a rating feature to track flare-up prediction accuracy. There's also an opportunity to make the holistic experience even more engaging by incorporating community-driven ratings for top products and effective pain management strategies, helping users feel supported and empowered in their journey.
If this project continued, future work could focus on integrating the Mount Mary team's design into the beta platform and adding a rating feature to track flare-up prediction accuracy. There's also an opportunity to make the holistic experience even more engaging by incorporating community-driven ratings for top products and effective pain management strategies, helping users feel supported and empowered in their journey.
If this project continued, future work could focus on integrating the Mount Mary team's design into the beta platform and adding a rating feature to track flare-up prediction accuracy. There's also an opportunity to make the holistic experience even more engaging by incorporating community-driven ratings for top products and effective pain management strategies, helping users feel supported and empowered in their journey.
Reflection
Reflection
Reflection
This project reinforced the importance of empathy and collaboration when designing for real human needs, especially in healthcare. I strengthened my ability to balance user research, technical constraints, and holistic care to create experiences that feel supportive and empowering. Working on 4alivio also highlighted the value of integrating wearable data early to allow for deeper testing and iteration. If I were to revisit this project, I would prioritize those integrations sooner while delegating more intentionally to keep the process efficient. Ultimately, this project reaffirmed why I'm drawn to healthcare UX—designing experiences that help people feel seen, supported, and in control of their well-being.
This project reinforced the importance of empathy and collaboration when designing for real human needs, especially in healthcare. I strengthened my ability to balance user research, technical constraints, and holistic care to create experiences that feel supportive and empowering. Working on 4alivio also highlighted the value of integrating wearable data early to allow for deeper testing and iteration. If I were to revisit this project, I would prioritize those integrations sooner while delegating more intentionally to keep the process efficient. Ultimately, this project reaffirmed why I'm drawn to healthcare UX—designing experiences that help people feel seen, supported, and in control of their well-being.
This project reinforced the importance of empathy and collaboration when designing for real human needs, especially in healthcare. I strengthened my ability to balance user research, technical constraints, and holistic care to create experiences that feel supportive and empowering. Working on 4alivio also highlighted the value of integrating wearable data early to allow for deeper testing and iteration. If I were to revisit this project, I would prioritize those integrations sooner while delegating more intentionally to keep the process efficient. Ultimately, this project reaffirmed why I'm drawn to healthcare UX—designing experiences that help people feel seen, supported, and in control of their well-being.
Other Work
Other Work
Other Work
