ADRA INTERNATIONAL
Mobile app adoption for Madagascar-based volunteers improved health outcomes for 1500+ mothers
The project was initiated to deliver food, health and nutritional information to volunteers who aimed to improve adoption of positive behaviors by mothers and children within Madagascar-based communities.
To track impact, volunteers used the mobile health application to track children’s growth status, screen for childhood illnesses and malnutrition in children under the age of five.
The data collected was transmitted from the volunteers' phones to synchronize directly with the central office’s database. Subsequently, the information from the database was analyzed and informed project decisions, allowing for timely interventions.
Provided volunteer support to over 929 volunteers in Madagascar, improving volunteer onboarding and education to better serve Madagascar communities.
Project Impact Metrics
I worked as the Lead UX researcher, mentoring 2 other UX researchers and collaborating with one database manager and one software developer.
1500+ mothers and 650+ low income community members benefited from volunteer app usage, improving their overall health outcomes.
Design Research Process & Timeline at ADRA International
60 contextual inquiries and discovery interviews
We interviewed 30 mobile app users and 30 mobile app non-users. Most users were stationed at rural or remote areas.
Affinity mapping and clustering to synthesize data
Synthesized data via affinity clustering and showcased themes across all interviews.
Journey map visualizing optimized volunteer process
Visualized volunteer insights based on their experiences.
Our biggest problem was increasing mobile app usage among volunteers to at least 75% adoption rates.
The project worked with 929 total volunteers. Among these, 650 were trained to use mobile phones loaded with the Commcare mobile health software.
Almost two years after training, only 418 of 650 volunteers had submitted one or more forms to the system.
Use of the Commcare mobile application increased with each year, however, the rate of use was still low and project duration was limited (October 2015 - October 2019).
Additional constraints needed to be considered before increasing mobile app adoption to 75%, such as limited internet, low literacy, low tech exposure and cultural challenges.
In addition to this technical constraints for the app also had to be considered, such as slow loading times, and lack of usability (i.e., too much content on screen or untranslated content).
Constraints we considered before starting our discovery research
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Syncing data with central database required internet services from limited mobile communication service coverage from local providers.
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Limited education and low literacy levels significantly increased the Community Health Volunteers workload and responsibilities.
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Majority of Community Health Volunteers had never seen or owned a touch screen device before. They were using both the tablet and the application for the first time.
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Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) were resented by their neighbors for the privileges associated with their new role, including their access to new devices and solar chargers.
Key findings that helped us increase overall mobile app adoption across CHVs (community health volunteers).
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1 out of 10 volunteers had no internet access
590 of the 650 trained volunteers were located in internet access zones, however sixty of these volunteers could not access internet to sync with the database. Nine of the trained volunteers had never used the mobile application leaving 641 users.
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Consistent training was critical missing piece
All users and non-users had last received training two years before the survey. Fewer users expressed training needs compared to non-users. Both users and non-user expressed needing help to edit or remove child records.
Additional UX findings from interviews with mobile app users vs. non-users
Both groups approve of the application and its perceived benefit. Users highlight improved work quality, while non-users seek motivation. Battery issues are a common concern.
“The application helps us remember our lessons and makes us feel more confident with our work.”
— Non user volunteer
“[The] application improves the quality of the counselling…[it] makes [it] easy to find beneficiary code, and it is faster to find information for the report.”
— User volunteer
Our UX research recommendations to increase mobile app adoption to 75%
Address app usability issues to increase readability and comprehension.
Address small screen and increase font size for better visibility. Translate instructions to local dialect.
Optimize battery usage.
Simplify application development to load faster and optimize battery usage for volunteer users. Introduce incentives for app usage, motivating volunteers to use app even when there are lengthier loading times.
Provide consistent training and support around mobile app usage.
Design on the job training interventions and provide refresher trainings. Enhance support system and improve monitoring of user performance.
Recommendations implemented increased mobile app adoption and increased data collection.
Increased number of volunteers using application. Increased no. of reports submitted to database. Faster syncing of data with central database. Faster use of application.