Hvidovre Hospital Navigation App
May 2023
Hvidovre Hospital
Master's student
Problem area
Research concerning hospital patients has shown that many patients do not attend their appointments, which is costly for hospitals. Therefore, hospitals must implement and use new technologies to ease and overcome the difficulties associated with navigation in extensive healthcare facilities.
This study explored the wayfinding in Hvidovre Hospital and how patients and visitors can be assisted in finding their way around more efficiently without missing appointments and quickly finding hospitalised loved ones. Throughout this research, data was collected to create a finalised design solution with the potential of becoming a real navigation app used to remove any confusion when navigating through Hvidovre Hospital. This was my 2nd. semester project with two other fellow student colleagues. Therefore, I address the case as "We" expect for designing the prototype, where I write "I" as in I designed it in Axure RP 10.
Data collection methods
Field research
​We initially visited Hvidovre Hospital to interview employees and gain insights into the problem area. We determined beforehand how crowded the waiting room would be and whether or not we were allowed to stay there to observe. As we predicted, most staff members were busy, but we noticed the facilitation methods indoors that made us interested in exploring. We made an observation guide and took images during our visit to analyse later what to improve.​
Observation guide
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Guides/signs.
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Patients.
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Take brochures.
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Hospital floors and signs.
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Hospital staff.
Design iterations
​Our first prototype was designed based on desk research and quantitative data from surveys we posted on Facebook groups for nurses and otherwise citizens of Hvidovre. The first and second versions were low-fidelity sketches since we predicted that there were many changes that had to occur due to feedback from test users that we wanted to edit and test again before designing a high-fidelity version. The third and final prototypes were designed in Axure RP 10.
1st. prototype
2nd. prototype
3rd. prototype
The final prototype and solution
1. Front page
I made the flags look more like buttons the users are supposed to tap. I added shadows underneath and set the border radius to 5px instead of 0px. The smoother edges can also give a more welcoming look from an aesthetic point of view.
2. Sign-in page
​On the sign-in page, there is a small information text box when clicking on each question mark icon to explain which button to tap if the user is a patient or a visitor. The question mark icons are yellow to distance them from the rest of the elements on the page to make them more noticeable. Some participants from user testing of the third prototype seemed confused regarding where to tap. It could be because I asked them questions while they looked at the sign-in page and were distracted. However, otherwise, this new add-on is not a significant change and is only visible if the user taps the question mark icon. Therefore, it will add fewer visuals to maintain the simple look many participants have phrased during all three user test research phases.
3. Home page
One of the participants expressed that all the elements on this page blend. That is why s(he) touched the first link of the "Home" page since the rest of the elements lack something to attract the eye. S(he) mentioned icons as an example of a suitable replacement for the grey text on the grey background. For this last prototype, I added more icons and clarified the navigation menu by changing the horizontal panel from grey to blue. I also added blue icons to explain what they would lead to by tapping them .
4. Navigation map pages
Our data found that users did not find the department area by the four centres or multiple floors but by number and name. So this time, instead of making the user tap 3 times to get to the desired page, I shortened the route and added a search bar. The numbering of departments will change occasionally, according to a participant. However, my study group and I decided to keep the pages of floors within different centres since it will be one of many apps that need to be updated frequently. We also argued that the physical changes in the numbers and names of departments in the hospital will only cause more confusion among patients and visitors. By that logic, an updated app for the indoor structure is even more critical.
5. Transport pages
A participant who happened to be a nurse expressed that many patients at the hospital are there for a reason. They are ill, stressed, elderly and have poor eyesight. S(he) believes there needs to be more text on the main transportation page. We took some of the advice by making the text shorter and adding more padding between the lines. We deleted the zoom-in and out (+ and -) buttons on the three pages for each transportation method since no test user was partially fond of them. It was not possible to make the maps bigger by finger movement on this prototype either, and this app is also not responsive when tilting the screen to make the maps bigger. To solve this problem, we designed a simpler version of each map since the original ones from Hvidovre Hopsital's website are filled with much information that would not be read on the Mobile version, and it can be distracting for a user who is only interested in seeing where they can park a bicycle.
A navigation map made in Miro
Future Research and development proposal
Several possibilities have been identified for expanding the research on the Hvidovre Hospital navigation app.
1. Integrating a navigation tool like Google Maps
has excellent potential. This integration would add value to the app's functionality and provide users with more precise and efficient navigation within and around the hospital premises.
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2. including locations of toilets, handicap-friendly places, and food outlets
It would enable users to locate essential amenities within the hospital with low effort.
3. Implementation of the function of the zoom option
By only using two fingers rather than the plus and minus buttons in the corner of the screen.
This way, the user could zoom in on specific areas of the hospital maps, facilitating navigation through intricate sections and improving the overall user experience.
4. Adding department names to the maps for specific department areas
This addition would provide a more precise overview of the hospital's layout, simplifying the navigation for the specific departments for the users.
5. Integration of reminder notifications
Users can receive timely notifications by setting reminders for scheduled, upcoming appointments, ensuring they do not miss any appointments.
These are a few future research proposal possibilities that could provide value and expand the app's functionality and user experience when using the Hvidovre Hospital navigation app. By adding Google Maps, expanding the navigation maps, implementing the zoom-in option, displaying department names and integrating reminders, the app can become more valuable and efficient for users when navigating the hospital environment.