Building Empathy into Healthcare UX Design

A mother receiving cancer treatment still packs lunches every morning. A nurse managing chronic pain continues her hospital shifts. A daughter undergoing physical therapy coordinates her father's medical appointments. These aren't just patients - they're caregivers whose own health journey intertwines with their responsibility to others. We often design healthcare experiences assuming patients can focus solely on their own healing. Yet for many, pausing their caregiver role isn't an option. They navigate treatment while maintaining their essential role in others' lives. This reality demands more thoughtful design. These individuals need scheduling flexibility that acknowledges their dual roles. They need clear information they can process while distracted. They need spaces that accommodate the children or parents they can't leave at home. Their support needs differ too. Traditional support groups might be inaccessible to those caring for others. Education materials designed for focused attention might miss their mark. Even simple things, like appointment scheduling, take on new complexity when balancing multiple care responsibilities. Understanding these intersecting journeys becomes crucial. How might we design care experiences that support not just the patient's healing, but their ability to maintain their caregiver role? How could we create spaces that accommodate both receiving and giving care? The opportunity lies in recognizing these dual roles and designing healthcare experiences that acknowledge this reality. Because sometimes the most supportive care is the kind that helps patients continue caring for others. The best solutions will come from truly understanding these overlapping journeys - seeing patients not just as individuals seeking care, but as essential threads in the fabric of others' lives.

Only 50% of Gen-Xers (ages 45–64) track a health metric digitally and just 52% fully trust the health information they receive. At New York State Department of Health's Digital Health Initiative, we asked a critical question: What does it take to build digital tools that work for - and with - middle-aged adults? This population (which includes me!) is managing chronic conditions, raising kids, caring for parents, and shouldering a growing share of health costs. Yet they’re often left out of product design, pilots, and innovation narratives. Michael R. Crawford & I emphasized that trust, usability, and inclusion aren't soft features - they are hard requirements to reach middle-age patients. We then led a live design sprint, where participants brainstormed stigma-reducing solutions to support Gen X adults living with chronic disease The concepts weren’t just innovative—they were actionable, deeply human, and rooted in lived experience. I’m optimistic about what technology can do for people managing chronic conditions when it’s built with empathy, evidence, and lived experience at the core. https://lnkd.in/erEMY43a

99.9999% of case studies I see don't address: → Empathy Way too much "Next, I did this..." Not enough "Here's why we did this..." A well-placed persona image in your study is not a substitute for genuine user understanding. Some ways you can highlight empathy: → Core Needs: Begin your narrative by highlighting the user's fundamental needs. Make their pain points the core of your story, just as you did with your designs. → Insights: Distill the core needs into your primary insights. Showcase these. They guided your design decisions. Let them guide your case study. → How Might We's: A good way to frame problem-solving based on each insight. These show the uncovered potential. → Outcomes: Shift your focus from solely what you've learned to how your solution positively affected the user. How did it make their life better? Tell the story through the user's eyes, not merely as a designer ticking off a checklist. Empathy should have guided every step of your design process. Let it guide your story, too. #ProductDesign #PortfolioTips