Our day-to-day interactions with technology are changing expectations and aspirations for almost every touch point in modern life. We want instant feedback and action at the push of a button, from the digital shopping cart to the doctor’s office. That is part of why there is a constant stream of new apps and tech services being released across every industry, including wellness. But the barrage of options can be a problem of its own nature.
To better understand what people want and how to deliver resources that resonate and stick, we spent time studying how real people engage (or don’t) with personal health and well-being. What we found was instantly familiar yet full of deeply personal insights that made the struggle real and the solution obvious.
So often we design towards an end-goal or finish line. As we were reminded through our research, health is not static. For the healthy, those with chronic conditions, those actively managing to avoid serious health issues, the issues are all the same: it’s a challenge to live your healthiest life every day. It’s a daily struggle to avoid the foods we shouldn’t eat; it’s a daily struggle to exercise; it’s a daily struggle to live in the “white space” between doctor appointments.
To help people, we need to not only design solutions that fit into their daily lives with convenience and ease, we need to give them help that works in real life. We need to design technology that works alongside people through the ups and downs. This can be tough for well-being programs as we often need to fit these tools alongside program components driven by larger initiatives and deadlines, but it can be done.
A good place to start rethinking program design is understanding the three simple criteria for a consumer-friendly program. Check out our three quick tips to learn the basics for designing a health and well-being program that resonates with employees by putting real people at the center of every interaction.
Madhavi Vemireddy, MD, is Chief Medical Officer and Head of Product Management, ActiveHealth Management
