A digital screening tool for health and welfare workers
Key takeaways
Rethinking a digital screening tool with smart UI design tools boosts response amongst health and welfare workers.
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Client
VAD
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Services
User interface design — Scalable cloud infrastructure — Dashboard design —
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Links
Discover me-ASSIST
Challenge
“We need an improved digital tool with a mobile-friendly design that efficiently assists health & welfare workers in screening substance use-related health risks, as well as assessing symptoms of substance abuse and gambling disorders.”
This was the challenge set for us by the Flemish governmental organisation VAD (Vlaams expertisecentrum voor alcohol, illegale drugs, psychoactieve medicatie, gokken en gamen).
As their previous digital tool had been outdated from both a technological and a user-friendliness perspective, we created a concept for a new generation of digital screening tools based on service design & actual user journeys.
It was time to give health and welfare workers a hand by providing them with an easy to use, reliable, and actionable digital screening tool: VAD me-ASSIST.
Digital screening tools for health workers: quick responses are vital
VAD offers digital screening tools to general practitioners, psychiatrists, hospital doctors, social workers (OCMW & CAW), youth welfare workers, and more.
These tools are based on WHO-approved standards and allow VAD to gauge and survey the use (and therefore potential abuse) of substances and self-destructive behaviours, such as alcohol, tobacco, medication, illegal drugs, gambling, … .
Health workers go over a series of questions, resulting in a score which indicates potential risks for the patient or client’s health and wellbeing.
The previous version of the tool and the related web platform no longer fulfilled two key requirements for its users: a smooth intake process and a clear, direct interpretation of the questionnaire. As a result, the number of screenings had dropped dramatically. VAD asked us to come up with an upgraded version of their tool – this is our solution.
Surveying made easy
Whenever the Bits of Love team develops a platform, tool, or application, the end user is always at the centre of our thought process. In this case, the name of our tool already explains a lot: me-ASSIST. Me-ASSIST is an acronym for Modified Electronic Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test.
The tool and its web platform need to be extremely intuitive, as it is important that the questionnaire can be examined within the shortest possible delay. After evaluating the data, health workers need to be able to understand the diagnosis immediately and unambiguously.
“The team at Bits of Love created an intuitive tool that was a big step-up from the previous version. They paid close attention to the design: it is pleasant but uncluttered, which only adds to the user-friendliness. Even for new users, the next step is always clear.”
Jonathan Deleener,
Communication at VAD
User-friendly design is mobile-friendly design
VAD’s digital screening tool is used autonomously by the health or welfare worker. The tool must be hassle-free and reliable, and the workflow should speak for itself. As the tool is often used outside of an office context, it should be easy to use on the small screen of a smartphone or tablet.
We firmly rethought the existing me-ASSIST assessment platform by making it less complicated and scaling it down to its essence. We did this by stripping superfluous and user-unfriendly elements such as the old login module, history, referral links, and database with PDF files.
The Bits of Love team is deeply familiar with the appropriate UI design tools for each specific purpose. This results in a robust solution that gets tested in a real-life setting. Moreover, the VAD me-assist tool can easily be extended to new testing formats in the future.
Result
The Bits of Love team is eager to make a true difference in user interface design. Combined with our specialisation in data analysis and our hands-on experience with functional assessments, the outcome is a future-proof tool that makes the important tasks of health and welfare workers a bit easier. We are proud to make a valuable contribution to their mission to help people who are helpless without their intervention.
We are also proud of the fact that VAD has continuously given us their confidence to develop a range of self-help tools and educational games over the last 7 years. Our shared values and beliefs repeatedly provide our collaborations with a sound basis.
The amount of screenings using the reimagined VAD me-ASSIST tool has increased significantly and the response from the health and welfare workers who actively use the platform is overwhelmingly positive. And that’s exactly what we were secretly hoping for: a user-friendly tool that makes a tangible difference every single day.
