Drop-In
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A geocached messaging app, for building and maintaining new exercise habits.
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Role
Student Project
Timeline
Teammates
Interaction Design, Prototyping, Visual Design
Advised by Premera Blue Cross
10 Weeks, Fall 2018
Mike Cardarelli, Sophia Li
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What is Drop-In?
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Drop-In is an expressive response to the needs of type 2 diabetes patients, and their caregivers.
Drop-In is an expressive response to the needs of type 2 diabetes patients, and their caregivers.
It's an app that uses messaging to motivate habitual exercise.
Messages are delivered to a location chosen by the sender.
The recipient must walk to the message to view it and reply.
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How does it work?
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Start with a map.
Maps are familiar, a little bit fun, and full of information people can relate to. Drop-In’s home screen is a map showing all the new messages near you.
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Choose a message.
Tap on a message to see who it’s from, how long it will take to walk there, and the best route to take.
Then, get out there and collect it!
You can’t view a message until you travel to it and pick it up. Once found, messages can be watched again later from the inbox.
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But first, make sure they can get there.
Terrain and accessibility data from OpenStreetMap and Project Sidewalk can be overlaid on any of Drop-In’s maps. This helps you find the best routes to your messages, and helps you find good places to drop the messages you send to others.
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How did we arrive at Drop-In?
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First, I needed a better understanding of the problem.
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I researched the challenges faced by caregivers in the context of today's healthcare system, and its 10-year trajectory.
Family members are increasingly taking on caregiving responsibilities. The demand for hired health aides is outpacing supply, and many people are unable to afford outside help.
However, families today are often geographically dispersed, making it more difficult for relatives to provide caregiving assistance.
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I saw an opportunity to have an impact on diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is one of the most prevalent and expensive diseases in Washington and Alaska, where Premera provides coverage.
Successful treatment is heavily dependent on developing healthy habits. Diet, exercise, and medication routines must be established, and they must last for long periods of time.
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Caregivers can benefit from the same healthy habits as patients.
Relatives of diabetes patients are 2–6 times more likely to be diagnosed themselves, but following the same healthy habits as patients can greatly reduce the risk.
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But, following through on new routines is hard.
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“I know what it takes to get to 10,000 steps a day, but walking for the sake of walking is so hard…
Maybe I’m too goal-oriented.”