Supporting the support system: designing a platform for professional caregivers

I study software engineering and have spent time in various technical internships and working student positions. But for my master’s thesis, I wanted to take those hard technical skills and apply them to a space where the end user is not just a consumer or a business, but a lifeline for someone else.

At the MIT AgeLab, researchers do a lot of different things: from studying advanced vehicle technologies to conducting social studies on longevity. Amidst this diverse research landscape, I saw the opportunity to use technology not just to study a problem, but to build something useful to solve it.

Analog Care in a Digital World

We often hear about the digital transformation of our world. However, this shift is uneven and doesn’t happen at the same speed in all areas. Even within the same sector, the pace of adoption for digital technologies differs. Let’s take for example the healthcare sector: almost all hospitals have implemented electronic health record systems, while less than half of all residential care communities have done so by 2022. This means the long-term care sector, which supports aging adults and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), is stuck working with legacy systems, fragmented data, and documents only available on paper. These outdated systems constrain essential processes and lead to information gaps that can hinder the continuity of care.

Supporting the “Eyes and Ears” of Healthcare

Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) are, besides the clients, the most affected by these information gaps. DPSs help clients with eating, dressing, and daily living. They are the eyes and ears of the healthcare system. Yet, despite being essential, their work is incredibly difficult. The stress of managing heavy workloads without adequate support, insufficient training, burnout and low wages lead to a staggering weighted annual turnover rate of roughly 44%. When a caregiver leaves, the continuity of care breaks and the quality of care for the client suffers.  As a person with a computer science background, I see the potential of digital technologies that may empower caregivers and lead to improvements in clients’ quality of life.

Designing for the Real World

My project involves partnering with a care facility in the Boston metropolitan area that has been supporting people with IDDs for over 60 years. However, the platform is also applicable to other institutions or other related fields. The goal is to build a communications platform consisting of an iOS app for caregivers and a web portal for management that makes their lives easier.

Because I believe the caregivers know best what is helpful for their daily work, I am using a user-centric approach in developing the platform. This process involved in-depth interviews to pinpoint frustrations, detect information gaps, and validate design choices directly with the staff. Guided by these initial insights, I created a conceptual prototype for them to evaluate. Incorporating their feedback, I have moved from design to development and am currently writing the code for the fully functional iOS app and web portal prototype. To ensure the system supports the entire organization, I also met with management to determine their specific needs for the web portal.

The Communications App

The platform is designed to serve two distinct needs. On the one hand, the mobile iOS app is geared toward the caregivers to support patient care featuring, among others, task management, behavior tracking, and daily log notes. The app aims to aggregate patient-specific information into a secure and intuitive interface, empowering the caregiver rather than adding to their administrative burden. On the other hand, the web portal for the management should provide a dashboard for shift assignments, client management, and document uploads.

Of course, in healthcare, functionality must be paired with security. The prototype should be HIPAA-compliant, featuring encryption of sensitive information, role-based access control, and audit logs to ensure accountability and compliance.

Empowering the Care Ecosystem

By providing caregivers with modern tools to manage their workload and see the latest information about their clients, we aren’t just improving efficiency. The aim is to support the incredible work these caregivers are already doing. By equipping them with better tools, we want to empower staff to deliver consistent, high-quality care, ensuring greater safety and a better quality of life for their clients.