Kristin Schwitzer, Beacon Research Andy Rieger, UnitedHealth Group 5/7/09 Seniors Go Online to Co-Create a Tool to Track Healthcare Information.

Kristin Schwitzer, Beacon Research

Andy Rieger, UnitedHealth Group

5/7/09

Seniors Go Online to Co-Create a Tool to Track Healthcare Information

Agenda

• What is a PHR?• Going-in business issues• Research objective• Study design• Outcomes/impact

Beacon Research and UnitedHealth Group

What is a PHR?

Personal health record…

A computerized tool typically initiated by an individual that stores and manages one’s personal health and medical information, and is viewable by anyone who has been granted access.


What is a PHR? (cont.)

PHRs most commonly contain information on:

•allergies and adverse drug reactions

•medications (including dose and how often taken)

•illnesses and hospitalizations

•surgeries and other procedures

•vaccinations

•laboratory test results

•family history


Going-in business situation

• UnitedHealth Group and AARP wanted to introduce a PHR targeting the needs of Seniors

• Little was known about the ways that America’s aging population goes about keeping track of their personal health records


Key questions

Would UHG’s existing online PHR, designed for the general population, also work for Seniors?

What changes, if any, would be needed to optimize the tool and drive greater utilization and improved health outcomes?

Would the tool improve the ability of adult children to provide care for their elderly parents?

How could the tool improve the health of the chronically ill?


Research objectives

1. Explore how today’s Senior population is handling management of their personal health records

2. Get reactions to UHG’s existing online PHR, and collect input on the “ideal” PHR tool design

3. Check assumptions that Caregivers and the Chronically Ill are market segments with a greater need for a PHR


Key Issues

1. Current behavior:

The various assorted “jobs” The biggest pain points Tricks and tools

2. The “ideal” tool

Form and access Content and features


Key Issues (cont.)

3. Personal health records:

Awareness and perceptions Reactions to the existing UHG tool Suggestions to make more targeted to 65+ year olds PHR set-up and maintenance – who’s responsible? Granting access to others Privacy concerns


Sample

Four respondent segments were included:

– Healthy Seniors

– Chronically-ill Seniors

– Adult children caregivers

– Healthcare providers


A portion of the test PHR(as shown to the online respondents)


Methodology

A 3-phase hybrid qualitative research design:

2-hour in-person focus groups 3-day online bulletin boards 5-day online immersive research one-on-ones


Is online really a good way to reach Seniors?


Absolutely! -- a majority of U.S. Seniors are now online


Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project January 2009

Percentage of Americans Online by Age

Internet usage by our respondents

• Roughly 2/3 of our in-person Seniors use the Internet

• Popular sites: healthcare, news, banking, games, shopping


OLBBs

2 weeks in between each phase to debrief/evolve planned Guide and optimize learning


In-personfocus groups

Let’s take a closer look at each of the 3 phases,from both the researcher and client perspectives


In-person focus groups

1. Current behavior: Memory-based data collection Lots of storytelling about “jobs” and related frustrations Bullseye exercise on biggest pain points “Tricks and tools” shared verbally

2. The “ideal” tool Collaborative brainstorming

3. Personal health records: Top of mind associations Surface-level reactions to UHG PHR



Very cathartic for both the Seniors and Caregivers

Ate up a LOT of time on Current Behavior as participants had to take turns talking –

resulted in proportionally less learning on other key issues



• Team all together at project kickoff

– Dedicated time focused on voice of the consumer

– Seeing their emotions and non-verbal cues re: various “jobs”

– Constant backroom discussion and simultaneous learning– Evolving the Guide to maximize real-time learning


In-person focus groups (cont.)

• Videostreaming for 2nd market, with remote debriefing

– Efficient use of team members’ time

– Constant discussion via Instant Messaging

– Able to synthesize observations with those from 1st group


Online bulletin boards

1. Current behavior: Memory-based data collection Faster, more streamlined issue exploration

2. The “ideal” tool Collaborative brainstorming, with time for reflection and additions Included 65+ content/feature suggestions

3. Personal health records: Top of mind associations Enhanced stimuli Much deeper exploration on PHR,

plus emerging themes of privacy and maintenance



Able to hear from ALL respondents on all questions

Data collected was 100% text-based, with a mix of unbiased individual feedback and group discussion



• Able to check in on data collection at our convenience

• Questions could be fine tuned and areas of interest explored more deeply than during in-person focus groups

• Text-based medium allowed for more in-depth analysis of responses

• Respondents not limited in terms of geographic region


Online immersive research

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Open-ended blog/ photodiary

All aboutme

PHR expectations

Your ideal PHR

Reactions to sample PHR

Security/privacy cues



1. Current behavior: Experiential via 5-day blog

2. The “ideal” tool Drawings and rich descriptions

3. Personal health records: Top of mind associations Reactions to enhanced stimuli Much deeper exploration

on current and ideal content and features

Security cues



Longitudinal one-on-ones yielded rich individual insights

And lots of visual data (80 photos, 60 websites), in addition to text



• Able to check in on data collection at our convenience

• In-depth look at individual situations helped to uncover true jobs

• Rich media provided a broader perspective than just verbal/text


Outcomes and impact

From video footage, transcripts, websites and images…

• Sample PHR was well received overall -- what’s working/ not working

• Still, a redesign of the general-population version was recommended

85 suggestions to maximize appeal to this target audience

• All want security cues and reassurance messages added

• All Seniors would grant access to their adult children

• Some want an offline version also


Outcomes and impact


Outcomes and impact


Outcomes and impact


Final assessment on hybrid design

• 3 methods triangulated into deeper insights than one alone

• 2-weeks in between phases helped maximize learning

• Approach can be adapted to all respondent types/ research needs

• And… Seniors can make outstanding online participants!


Questions?

[email protected]

[email protected]


Kristin Schwitzer, Beacon Research Andy Rieger, UnitedHealth Group 5/7/09 Seniors Go Online to Co-Create a Tool to Track Healthcare Information.

Documents

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