Designing Towards an Application to Find a Nurse

Fournier, H.; Katsuragawa, K.; Singh, K.; Bin Hannan, N.; Kondratova, I.

In this fast-paced technological era, the demand and the usage of applications which make our life easier have increased dramatically. This need has grown especially for the aging population who require help more than ever. Older adults (65+) need an effective way to communicate with a healthcare professional in case they require any advice about their health or schedule an in-person checkup. The current COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the push for remote check-ins and virtual care especially for older adults who are medically or socially vulnerable. Remote health services are being promoted as a means of preserving the patient-health care provider relationship at times when in-person visits are not practical or feasible, especially during COVID-19 and in the future. This paper describes an application to support vulnerable older adults in their home, with more responsive home health care services which can potentially reduce the number of unnecessary trips to the hospital for non-emergency situations. The process of designing the application will be described, including workflow, storyboards, and key steps in the validation process. The paper will also discuss future research directions. © 2021, Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada.