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Swaetha Interaction Design Research Report
1. RESEARCH REPORT – A1
SWAETHA VASUDEVAN – SVAS 7415
DECO2200 - INTERACTION DESIGN STUDIO
2. PROBLEM AREA
Coronavirus, or COVID-19, is an infectious disease that is an ongoing
pandemic with over 219 million cases and 4.55 million deaths worldwide.
COVID-19 was a global outbreak in 2020, where many organisations and
countries tried to find a vaccine as it was a new, highly infectious disease.
The symptoms of COVID-19 were deadly, putting many people in
hospitals.
In June 2021 in NSW Australia, there was a huge outbreak of a new
Delta COVID-19 strain. The Delta strain was shown to spread twice as
easily as the original strain of COVID-19, which posed as a significant
threat as it became more transmissible between people. On top of this,
the Delta strain had more people more likely to be admitted to the
hospital and needing hospital care in intensive care. Slowly, over the next
few months, the cases began to increase up to the thousands, putting
more people into isolation.
To contain the transmission of COVID-19 and maintain a health
society, there are so many factors that are needed to be considered. A
few of these factors include; efficient contact tracing and check in and
out systems, maintaining mental health in isolation, spread of correct
information, access to resources, and many more. These factors are
crucial in a time where there is a large surge of COVID-19 cases. NSW
health is overwhelmed (University of Melbourne, 2021).
My group decided to focus on how users can better access and trust
COVID-19 related systems better. Based on this I focused on looking on
how to better support individuals in COVID-19 isolation, waiting for
results, or have COVID-19, as well as improving systems for them to
access financial support services and resources.
With widespread lockdowns and more people going into government
mandated lockdowns, people are restricted from social connections, have
to change their lifestyles, and can lose work. All of which are factors that can
contribute to stress on all individuals, as recognized by the World Health
Organization. While these stresses may be temporary, in the long term, they
can contribute to mental health conditions or exacerbate it for people who
does have underlying issues (AIHW, 2021).
Many studies show that the pandemic has seen an increase of mental
health conditions, including stress, anxiety, and depression
(Heffernan, 2021). This demonstrates that there is a problem here, and with it
being so new, more research needs to be done into it to see how we can
manage or mitigate the risks. This is also further demonstrated in the significant
increase in crisis support and help lines during the pandemic (AIHW, 2021).
Moreover, tighter restrictions, compounded with the risk of contracting COVID-19,
has also shown that people are more likely to fear the financial and social
risks (Schimmenti et al., 2020), such as losing work and disconnecting from family
and friends.
There are also big debates about the use of centralised information, data
gathering, and privacy concerns. With more privatised systems, the user’s identity
is protected, however personalised experiences cannot be provided to
give support. There are limitations in existing technologies as there isn’t one place
to access all the data, shown through how contact tracing is done through
several methods, and several forms of communication such as text, calling and
more. Additionally, there are several limitations in seeing if people are okay in
isolation. Check-ins are done via text or call, but it is hard to gauge an honest
response from people over the phone, especially when they are at their most
vulnerable.
3. RESEARCH PLAN:
How do users currently access support systems
when they are awaiting covid results and/or covid
positive?
What support services are accessible to users
when they are awaiting covid results sand/or covid
positive?
What resources do users want in terms of being
supported financially, mental wellbeing when they
are awaiting covid results and/or covid positive?
What are users' behavioural patterns, opinions and
familiarity on support services and technological
application?
How have other countries supported users'
finances/mental wellbeing whilst awaiting covid
results and/or covid positive?
Understand the ability of NSW residents to access support services,
resources, and information, while they are awaiting COVID-19
results in isolation, quarantine, and/or covid positive.
Research Methods
The goal of this plan will be to gain a greater
understanding towards the needs of
support services and any accessibility issues
to NSW Health services. This research will
bring about a better understanding of the
support services users' access, which will
facilitate the resolution of any discovered
accessibility issues.
Firstly, user needs and issues were
discovered through a questionnaire. Next
online ethnography investigated people
intrinsic unbiased opinions, attitudes
towards interactions NSW Health. Lastly,
interviews were used to gain empathy and
personal understanding of people's
opinions.
Based on analysis, personas were created to
develop personalised storyboards and user
journey maps to demonstrate how the
problems faced by users would show up in
their experiences.
Research Questions
FIGURE 1. PERSON IN SELF ISOLATION
4. A researcher will immerse themselves into online platforms to interact or
observe discussions of target users to produce qualitative analysis,
ultimately enabling a study of people and their interactions online
(Tomitsch et al., 2020).
The aim of the online ethnography was to gain a holistic understanding
on NSW residents’ perceptions and access in gaining support services and
information provided by NSW health in relation to COVID-19. It also aimed
to capture the wellbeing levels of residents and determine if services were
providing adequate support.
Social media platforms Facebook and Reddit were used to get
information. I didn’t directly become an active member of such groups to
avoid any bias from the user's side, as I stated to the administrators of the
Facebook groups I was conducting research which served as consent.
3 primary Facebook groups were used being Coronavirus Survivors
Support Group Australia (800 members), Australian COVID-19 Updates
(9.2k members), COVID-19 Coronavirus Australia (43.1k members). These
groups compromised of the target users being covid contacts and tested
positive of all ages. As users shared their stories, experiences, and asked
questions this served as good discussion points for other members
serving as passive observation, whereby comments were be collected
(Tomitsch et al., 2020).
Several Reddit threads were observed such as /CoronavirusDownUnder,
/Centrelink, /Sydney, /NSW, as many discussions and opinions were
shared about their interactions, frustrations with support services and
information provided by NSW Health.
ONLINE ETHNOGRAPHY
Poor mental
health in
pandemic
Long wait
times
accessing
services
Confusing
information
Main themes found:
5. The major themes for the online ethnography were collected, grouped and
used in the thematic analysis alongside the interview and questionnaire
qualitative data. (See appendix).
Confusing information and confused on how to access support services.
Many COVID positive patients were asking how to get further information
and contact NSW Health, as they either hasn’t been in contact, had
inconsistent contact or they haven’t been told where to find the contact
details in an emergency. Many of COVID positive patients were calling to
notify the department they were positive as they hadn’t been contacted post
testing, as well as getting clearances, discharged, and isolation rules.
“We are out Wits end with the NSW Health department. We are at day 20 of
this horrid virus, we have never been called by the nurse, we only had police
check in and the contact tracers called every individuals. I’ve called
numerous times to see how and when we get released to no availability.
Everyone I speak to gives me another number to call and it’s the never-
ending cycle. I’m so frustrated. Who can I call. Please help!”
As some of these users were unable to get documentation that they were in
isolation/positive from NSW department, they were unable to apply for
financial support which has further restricted them from accessing an
essential support service.
“I didn’t hear from them the whole time I was in iso. Still waiting on my letter
to even say I was in isolation so I can get leave payment.”
ONLINE ETHNOGRAPHY
Long wait times accessing support services
There were also many delays and long wait times for users who wanted to
contacted NSW health. The implications of not receiving the appropriate
documentation or support has been outline by the Facebook Admin in the
Covid Survivors Support group.
“We had a member that was not contacted for the first 8 days post
diagnosis. Her condition deteriorated and she ended up in the Hospital and
remained there for almost a week… I have written an email to the Public
Health Unit/COVID-19 Department about the delay in issuing clearance
letters and the consequences it can have upon individuals (infringements
and unnecessary interrogation by law enforcement who are just doing their
jobs. Also, for employment, as some members have been refused entry to a
workplace without a clearance letter.
Many COVID positive patients were asking how to get further information
and contact NSW Health, as they either hasn’t been in contact, had
inconsistent contact, or they haven’t been told where to find the contact
details in an emergency. Many of COVID positive patients were calling to
notify the department they were positive as they hadn’t been contacted post
testing, as well as getting clearances, discharged, and isolation rules.
“We are out Wits end with the NSW Health department. We are at day 20 of
this horrid virus, we have never been called by the nurse, we only had police
check in and the contact tracers called every individuals. I’ve called
numerous times to see how and when we get released to no availability.
Everyone I speak to gives me another number to call and it’s the
neverending cycle. I’m so frustrated. Who can I call. Please help!”
6. The major themes for the online ethnography were collected, grouped and
used in the thematic analysis alongside the interview and questionnaire
qualitative data. (See appendix).
ONLINE ETHNOGRAPHY
Confusing and hard to access support services
“We had a member that was not contacted for the first 8 days post
diagnosis. Her condition deteriorated and she ended up in the Hospital and
remained there for almost a week I have written an email to the Public
Health Unit/COVID-19 Department about the delay in issuing clearance
letters and the consequences it can have upon individuals (infringements
and unnecessary interrogation by law enforcement who are just doing their
jobs. Also, for employment, as some members have been refused entry to a
workplace without a clearance letter.
There was a lack of contact from NSW Health in contacting COVID positive
individuals, which had several implications as outlined in the quote above by
the admin of Covid Survivors Support Facebook group. As individuals weren’t
able contact NSW Health for urgent support, such as gaining information on
what symptoms to look out for and when to call emergency services, many
individuals were left confused and felt alone.
“We are out Wits end with the NSW Health department. We are at day 20 of
this horrid virus, we have never been called by the nurse, we only had police
check in and the contact tracers called every individuals. I’ve called
numerous times to see how and when we get released to no availability.
Everyone I speak to gives me another number to call and it’s the
neverending cycle. I’m so frustrated. Who can I call. Please help!”
This lead to frustration, disappointment, and reduced trust in the system,
as they were left alone and unsupported
A lot of users expressed their frustration with applying and accessing
financial support. As some of these users were unable to get documentation
that they were in isolation/positive from NSW department, they were unable
to apply for financial support which has further restricted them from
accessing an essential support service.
“I didn’t hear from them the whole time I was in iso. Still waiting on my letter
to even say I was in isolation so I can get leave payment.”
“it’s a minefield trying to find the correct information.”
“I’ve read through so much online but still can’t really get a correct answer”
Poor mental health in the pandemic.
“Close contact and shitting myself… Here I am at 11pm having a panic attack
because I have allowed COVID to get near my family and I. I’m sure I will feel
better in the next few days’ but I am so scared….”
“I have found a lot of mental resources online for coping during COVID, but
vast majority of if it about how to cope from working from home.”
There was a lack of contact from NSW Health in contacting COVID positive
individuals, which had several implications as outlined in the quote above by
the admin of Covid Survivors Support Facebook group. As individuals weren’t
able contact NSW Health for urgent support, such as gaining information on
what symptoms to look out for and when to call emergency services many
individuals were left confused and felt alone.
7. Questionnaires are a set of questions intended to gain information on a
representative sample of target users. The questionnaire is used as a first means
of data collection to efficiently collect a large amount of user data (Tomitsch et
al., 2020) documenting peoples experiences.
The aim of this questionnaire was used to investigate COVID positive, close
contacts, casual contact, and anyone tested with their interactions and access to
support services between the ages of 18-45. A range of open ended, close ended,
and number scale questions were used to produce qualitative and quantitative
data.
The questionnaire was made on Qualtrics and had separate sections for each
covid contact being; COVID positive, Close Contact, Casual Contact, anyone
tested for Covid, to gain insights and any difference between each section. This
survey was was shared to Facebook in groups like Coronavirus Survivors
Support Group Australia (800 members), Australian COVID-19 Updates (9.2k
members), and COVID-19 Coronavirus Australia (43.1k members), as well as
reddit, and spread through word of mouth with peers identifying anyone being
close/covid contacts and was open for 2 weeks.
Overall, there was a total of 70 respondents, with a majority being 18-35 years old
which represents the 20–29 years old age group with the highest number of
cases. (See appendix).
QUESTIONNAIRES
FIGURE 3. QUESTIONNAIRE CONSENT
FORM ON MOBILE
8. QUESTIONNAIRES
13%
Covid Positive
16%
Close Contact
63% TERRIBLE wellbeing
13% AVERAGE wellbeing
24% GOOD wellbeing
25% POOR wellbeing
25% AVERAGE wellbeing
25% GOOD wellbeing
25% TERRIBLE wellbeing
21%
Casual
Contact
29%
Tested
negative for
COVID 35% AVERAGE wellbeing
40% GOOD wellbeing
25% EXCELLENT wellbeing
22% POOR wellbeing
45% AVERAGE wellbeing
22% GOOD wellbeing
11% TERRIBLE wellbeing
Rate your wellbeing in isolation:
As we can see above, the only section that has results of excellent wellbeing is tested negative for COVID. As a contrast terrible
wellbeing can be seen in all the other sections. On average, as isolation time increases, wellbeing decreases, demonstrating a
negative linear correlation between isolation time and wellbeing levels.
Average time in isolation: 2.5 weeks
Average time in isolation: 2 weeks
Average time in isolation: 1 week
Average time in isolation: 2 days
9. QUESTIONNAIRES
Rate your satisfaction with NSW Health information/resources
Covid Positive
Close Contact
Casual Contact
Tested negative for COVID
14% neither
14% moderately satisfied
14% extremely dissatisfied
8% moderately satisfied
8% extremely satisfied
11% neither
22% moderately satisfied
23% extremely dissatisfied
33% moderately satisfied
11% extremely satisfied
0% neither
0% moderately satisfied
72% extremely dissatisfied
14% moderately satisfied
14% extremely satisfied
38% neither
22% moderately satisfied
0% extremely dissatisfied
38% moderately satisfied
0% extremely satisfied
36% financial services
18% food resources
0% mental health
18% not told
Services informed by NSW health
20% financial services
20% food resources
20% mental health
20% not told
Services informed by NSW health
25% financial services
25% food resources
0% mental health
36% not told
Services informed by NSW health
28% financial services
20% mental health
43% not told
Services informed by NSW health
There is a relationship between whether NSW Health department told users about resources, and their rate of use increasing if NSW Health notified them or if they
were aware they could access. There is also a differences in satisfaction with NSW health ratings dependent on if that were told about certain resources.
10. The final technique used were interviews, which are one to
one sessions where a participant is asked a series
of questions in order to learn more about and understand
their beliefs.
The interviews investigated more in-depth experiences from
a range of COVID positive, Close contacts, Casual contacts,
and anyone tested, with their experiences with NSW health
and opinions. The overall goal was to develop empathy for
the user (Tomitsch et al., 2020) and gain insight the
frustrations and limitations of their current interactions
while in isolation.
Interviews were done semi-structured using a script and a
range of open-ended questions (Tomitsch et al., 2020) that
allowed in depth exploration of frustrations. Laddering was
also utilised to dive deeper into the user's feelings by asking
why specific points were important to them and their values
(Tomitsch et al., 2020). Laddering was used to help
participants understand and communicate their needs and
issues with the current system, as it may be difficult on
surface level to identify.
From the questionnaire participants were voluntarily able to
leave their name to be interviewed. As interview participants
were shared with other group members – I have selected
suitable participants ranging from COVID positive, Close
Contacts, Casual Contacts, and anyone tested. Our scripts
were merged into one to prevent overlap.
Due to the lockdown, all interviews were conducted via
Zoom online. The participants signed consent forms that
allowed recording via Zoom and then transcripts were put
into otter and deleted.
INTERVIEWS
Have you gotten tested for covid 19 before, what
was the result?
• Can you walk me through the process of how you
were notified of your result?
• How did it make you feel?
Has been in isolation/ getting tested had a negative
impact on your mental wellbeing?
Did you utilize any support services while in
isolation and awaiting your test results?
What would make you feel more supported?
You said in the survey you were moderately
dissatisfied to access to resources/information by
NSW health? OR how would you rate yourself from
1-5 - 1 being dissatisfied to 5 being satisfied
• What did you mean by this? Can you explain how
you ranked this?
What services and resources do you feel should be
provided to someone who is getting covid
tested/casual contact/close/positive?
• Why?
What’s the hardest part of accessing services
during your experience?
• What could be done to improve to make it
easier/better?
The full interviews can be found in Appendix. FIGURE 5. PARTICIPANT 6 INTERVIEW VIA ZOOM
11. The thematic analysis acts as a means of triangulation, whereby all
the qualitative data is analysed. The thematic analysis, interprets
ideas from data to ideas, whereby the formations of themes are
created as a bottom-up approach (Tomitsch et al., 2020). By
conducting thematic analysis, a researcher is able to empathise
with the users more as they connect with people through the
raw data.
A thematic analysis was conducted on the interview transcripts as
well as the online ethnography themes, and questionnaires. Only
the open-ended questions of the questionnaire were used into
thematic analysis to support the other qualitative data.
Firstly, all the data was read to gain familiarity and to make notes of
any similarities. Then I highlighted quotes on the interview
transcript on Good notes, that represented participants feelings,
opinions, beliefs, and frustrations. I moved the highlighted quotes
onto excel and coded each quote with a broad label. I did the same
with the survey open ended responses picking relevant quotes.
After this I refined, regrouped, and moved around codes to their
relevant label so nothing overlapped, thereby removing any
irrelevant codes. I then grouped the codes again and created
subthemes alongside the themes that emerged from the online
ethnography. I then revisited the raw data to see if I missed
anything and added on extra quotes. After this I grouped the
subthemes to form 5 major themes which can be found in
Appendix.
THEMATIC ANALYSIS
60
ONLINE
ETHNOGRAPHY
358
INTERVIEW
CODES
63
SURVEY
CODES
468
TOTAL
CODES
17
SUB-THEMES
5
THEMES
12. THEMATIC ANALYSIS - 2
Various channels of communication have become a barrier to easily accessing
necessary pandemic related information such as isolation rules and methods of
contacting emergency support services which is crucial to supporting individuals
exposed to COVID-19 and making them comply with rules.
Many participants had confusion with general information, isolation information,
and finding/contacting support details provided by the NSW Health Department. A few
users also got confused on which sources they should trust as they used multiple
platforms, mainly via social media. A lot of users suggested and wanted everything to be
on in one place, so they could easily find the information most relevant to their situation.
It is extremely important for users to easily find information so they can comply with
the rules to reduce spread of COVID to friends and family and do the right thing in their
communities. Users also have to contact NSW Health for reasons such as reporting any
unusual symptoms and asking for contact details for resources such as groceries, which
need to be done in a timely matter as it is an issue of safety. When users become
confused, they can start to feel alone and scared, which can put them in a dangerous
situation as they don’t have the right resources to help them.
Individuals are unaware of the resources they have access to during the
pandemic due to unclear eligibility and communication of these services
which can make individuals feel less supported and miss out on opportunities
to help them.
Many participants were unaware of the support and eligibility to access resources
that could help their experience in isolation, which made them feel upset. A lot of
these participants simply didn’t know they could access this information as
they stated they just didn’t know about it as no one told them. A few
participants suggested resources such as food as money, which they are eligible
for which demonstrated they were unaware of this. Overall, uses found it hard to
actually access the resources that were provided to them – as they were confused
and found it hard to find information on, even for those who were technically
proficient.
“I was given about
100 phone numbers
on different
channels."
“When you're doing the two
weeks quarantine, you really
need to be quite thorough.
And, I think NSW health
should provide more
information for this.”
“NSW health to tell
you what you need to
look for, instead of you
having to look for it for
yourself, it would be
nice”
“I wasn't made aware of that
during my time in isolation. I
suppose knowing after the fact
now that I couldn't have had
those resources that I could have
had those resources during that
time. Makes me feel like I missed
out
“There's a lot of extra steps
that are involved in trying to
find the right places to get
support services for COVID-
19. Because I sort of feel that
that's something that should
be more easily accessible.”
“Difficult to find there's
no clear cut, you know,
yes or no eligibility”
13. THEMATIC ANALYSIS - 3
Sympathy should be shown when communicating with
people in isolation as their wellbeing can deteriorate, and
it's important to support them through personalised
mental health services and check-ins to help them feel
supported and cared for.
Participants in isolation overall said they were extremely
scared when the first were notified of results. Their wellbeing
and mental health deteriorated after spending time alone
staring at 4 walls all day, running out of things to do and
feeling useless. Most found that talking to their friends or
using their own support networks worked and were mostly
aware of mental health services. They didn’t utilise mental
health services as they weren’t COVID specific and felt their
close circle was enough. The check-ups that NSW health did
provide were more related to symptoms or ensuring they
were home, as opposed to wellbeing check-ins. Users felt
like there was no care, and that they were being punished
and didn’t feel like they were being supported.
“And we'll check in. And it's
like, they kind of treated her
as like a, like a potential
number, or a case rather
than a human being”
“Maybe a more like
supportive text, or like,
maybe there could have
been like a, like, should be
like a network to support
those in isolation”
“You talk to another person,
for example, a couple of days
after you've called and you
want to ask the same
question to another public
health nurse, they tell you
something else. And it's
everyone does gives you
different answers. And
everyone's just everywhere
“I feel like waiting is the
biggest problem here, like,
just waiting around, doing
nothing and just expecting,
like, not knowing when the
results would come. But
instead, if you can just
track”
“it's never a good feeling
on it. For you to be told
that you might have the
virus. So I think at the
time, it was a scary
moment”
The possibility of having covid is fear inducing which is
heightened when awaiting test results due to a lack of
transparency and progress updates which can help ease
some of the anxiety.
All respondents were extremely fearful of contracting COVID
– 19 as they didn’t want to spread it onto family and friends
and suffer. Many participants said they were panicked and
stressed out when they had to get tested. Most participants
are educated on when to get tested, however, this situation
of them feeling anxious was heightened when they had to
wait for test results as there were major delays and no
transparency or information surrounding this. A lot of people
said they focused solely on the results of the texts and
couldn’t concentrate on other things to do.
NSW health is inconsistent in communicating results,
information, and services which becomes easily
frustrating and can cause a lack of trust in the
government, alongside uncertainty.
Participants were left frustrated when there was a lack of
consistent methods of contact from NSW Health. As well as
these, many participants shared their experiences with peers
and realised they had different timings, or treatments which
disheartened them as there was no standardisation of
processes. This made them gain a lack of trust and
uncertainty in a time where everything is new. Moreover,
many participants got contacted late or did not get
contacted at all by NSW Health department, they also did
this through inconsistent channels or phone or text. COVID
positive contact in June had more helpful experiences with
NSW health in response to close contacts, casual contact, or
tested in the later months, which could be attributed to
them lacking capacity.
“And then she asked me if
I saw the text, and I said,
Oh, I haven't got a text.
And she said, it should
have been sent. So she
chased that up. And
eventually, I did get a text
about maybe two hours
after that call.”
14. SUMMARY - KEY FINDINGS
Based on the user research methods, the key factors that affecting
the communication of resources, support services by NSW Health
was the inability to find them across a myriad of resources. The
resources by NSW health were provided however, users couldn’t
locate it or understand it as there was a lot of terminology used
that many people aren’t familiar with.
As people are getting confused or can’t locate the resources, or
services, and information they need they become frustrated and
can’t access the resources they need that can worsen their already
serious conditions in isolation.
Moreover, with isolation involving individuals to be alone to help
protect the community, they don’t feel like they are getting
enough sympathy or personalized check ins. To help users settle
in and ensure wellbeing doesn’t deteriorate, the users wanted
more care and activities to do, as they couldn’t find things to do in
isolation and became more aware of their situation.
An opportunity and gap here would be to that there is no way to
monitor and priorities those in urgent care or need for support
whilst in isolation or identity symptoms of negative wellbeing.
Those in isolation should be rewarded and feel like they are doing
good for the community opposed to feeling punished.
It is hard to access resources and information which
makes individuals frustrated and not trust the
government to support them
Isolation can increase negative wellbeing and mental
health and people need to feel supported and cared
for in this vulnerable time
15. SUMMARY - KEY FINDINGS
NEEDS OF USERS
Effective
communication
Easy to
access
resources
Centralized
communication
channels
Coherent
information
Managing
loneliness
More
sympathy
Timely
support
Activities to
overcome
boredom
16. REFRAMING
Reframing is a new way of looking at a problem to move away from solving a
problem question the problem. (Tomitsch et al., 2020). Commonly, the normal
way of approaching a problem will be to find a solution when researching. This is
problematic as designers can become fixated on the first ideas or solution they
favor. As a result of this they can make biased assumptions about the solution hey
desire which limits the innovation and creativity needed in a solution (Dorst, 2015).
Inadvertently through the research, the basics of Dorst’s Frame Creation Model
was followed up whereby the archaeology was set. Next the paradox statements
were created by using a positive statement, and then adding a negative
consequence. Next the negative consequence was restated, and a worse
consequence was added on. After this the worse consequence was restated and
related back to the first statement.
After creating the paradox statement, I tried to understand and find the deeper
themes that are the underlying motivations and experiences that are relevant to
the problem situation. Following Dorst’s framework, these themes were very
explicit yet universal.
Next the frames were created where the problem situations were written to be
approached as the themes, and then utilizing a metaphor. By doing this, the end
new frame is from a new lens and the problem can definitely been seen from a
different perspective.
17. REFRAMING
1. The Paradox:
Because the government provides a lot of COVID related information online,
people easily get confused searching for relevant information, support services
and resources.
Because people become confused, searching for relevant information, support
services they become frustrated, feel unsupported by the government and don't
access the resources they need.
Because people don't access the resources they need, they aren't getting all
the support and information the government provides them.
2. The Themes:
1) Confusion & clarity
2) Communication
Frame 1:
If the problem situation of people not accessing relevant information, support
services, and resources is approached as if it is a problem of confusion & clarity,
then finding out what people can access should be like looking through the
peephole to see who's at the door after you hear knocking.
Frame 2:
If the problem situation of people not accessing relevant information, support
services, and resources is approached as if it is a problem of communication,
then finding out what people can access should be like texting a friend.
3. The Frames
1. The Paradox:
Because NSW Health encourages healthy lifestyles and wellbeing in communities,
so requires anyone exposed to COVID-19 to quarantine for 14 days secluded from
friends and family.
Because people are required to quarantine for 14 days secluded from friends and
family, they begin to feel lonely as they have limited activities to occupy
themselves.
Because people begin to feel lonely as they have limited activities to occupy
themselves, their physical and mental wellbeing deteriorates.
Because their physical and mental wellbeing deteriorates as a result of isolating,
NSW health doesn't nurture healthy lifestyles and wellbeing in communities.
2. The Themes:
1) Boredom
2) Loneliness
Frame 1:
If the problem situation of people feeling disconnected from communities is
approached as if it is a problem of boredom, then deteriorating wellbeing and
mental health should be like painting a picture being your favourite hobby.
Frame 2:
If the problem situation of people feeling disconnected from communities is
approached as if it is a problem of loneliness, then deteriorating wellbeing and
mental health should be like calling your friend.
3. The Frames
18. AGE: 32
GENDER: Female
OCCUPATION: Full time
Administration
MAZIA RIA
USER PERSONA
Empathetic Protective
Assertive Extroverted
”You get the call up saying
you’re positive, but after that,
it's like, you’re left in the woods.
It’s like what am I supposed to
look out for?”
ABOUT:
MOTIVATIONS: FRUSTRATIONS:
IDEA EXPERIENCE/ GOALS:
• She wants to easily find information on what to expect, how to get help in case of an emergency
• She wants to easily be able to apply for financial help while in isolation
• She wants faster responses instead of being on hold when in contact with NSW health for help
• She wants rules and regulations to be standardized so she isn’t left confused
• There has been a lot of inconsistent protocols such as
ambulance booking vehicles and visits
• It took a long time for her to get financial support and
she was redirected several times
• NSW health only checked in and called them on them
for the first 4 days
• NSW health providing different rules and regulations
and is unsure which to follow
• Felt alone and needed more mental health support
and she wasn’t told about everything she should look
out for
• Keeping her family and friends safe and healthy
• Spending quality time and connecting with her
family and friends
• Following the rules of isolation so she doesn’t
get in trouble or spread coronavirus
• Setting a good example and being a role model
citizen in her community
Mazia lives in Liverpool with her husband and 3 children and does administration work for family business.
She enjoys and values spending times with her family and visiting her relatives on the weekends. Due to
the pandemic, she has lost work and has, to look after her kids at home while her husband continues to
work and contracted COVID-19 from a coworker and has passed it onto the family.
20. AGE: 21
GENDER: Female
OCCUPATION: Part time &
Student
MELANIE JOSEPH
USER PERSONA
Organized Ambivert
Hardworking Creative
“I feel like an isolation you're all
alone. you can ask your friends
but during isolation, because
they're not isolating as well.
Sometimes they can't always
support you.”
ABOUT:
MOTIVATIONS: FRUSTRATIONS:
IDEA EXPERIENCE/ GOALS:
• Personalized mental health services to help specifically people in isolation from being a close contact to
connect with someone who understands the situation she is in
• One place where she can access all the information or people who can easily answer her questions
• More sympathy and frequent check ins opposed to a standardized same message everyday
• She felt like she was alone in isolation because there
was nothing she could do
• She has anxiety and felt like the mental health
services were too generic and no one understood her
problems
• She had a lot of questions with symptoms, recovery
times and couldn’t find the information
• More sympathy and support because she felt like she
was being punished and like she was a burden
• Maintaining her friendship, relationships and
social life
• Staying healthy and active
• Participating in her creative hobbies
• Staying on top of her honors works and getting
good grades
Melanie is a medical science Honors student and lives at home in Bella Vista with her parents who are
medical practitioners and her brother in high school. She works as a receptionist at concord hospital but
doesn’t work due to the pandemic. Before the pandemic she was running a food Instagram account sharing
her love for food with her friends. Her father contracted COVID-19 and she became a household close contact
and had to isolate for 14 days.
23. AGE: 23
GENDER: Male
OCCUPATION: Full-time
construction worker
JASON TAYLOR
USER PERSONA
Social Adventurous
Hardworking Curious
“I didn’t get any direct contact
from NSW health. I was
panicking a lot. I think a lot of
information contradicted each
other”
ABOUT:
MOTIVATIONS: FRUSTRATIONS:
IDEA EXPERIENCE/ GOALS:
• Wants NSW government to contact him with information so he trusts their ability and that he should
follow the rules
• Easier to understand eligibility rules of financial services so he can make up for lost work
• More information on what resources he could access being a close contact as he was never actually put in
the system or contacted.
• Paying his rent and other household expenses
• Being able to work safely
• Keeping his brother safe and unexposed from
the virus
• Connecting with his mates and community
• NSW government never contacted him regarding
being a close contact, and he was confused on what
he had to do
• He was unsure of his eligibility for accessing covid
related resources and never applied
• He wasn’t sure if he could trust the resources or
information online as they were all different
Jason lives in Merrylands with his brother and works as a full-time construction worker. Outside of work he
enjoys skateboarding, drinking with his mates and being outdoors with his cat. During the pandemic he go
had to continue working, and unfortunately one of his co-workers was COVID positive and his boss asked
him to get tested and isolate for 14 days.
He had to isolate at home for 14 days away from his brother who also had to get tested and take time off
work and provide for him with the correct resources. Jason was never contacted by NSW health and returned
to work after getting a negative test after 14 days in isolation.
25. AGE: 23
GENDER: Male
OCCUPATION: Part time &
Student
DANIEL CHO
USER PERSONA
Creative Passionate
Hardworking Curious
“it's kind of scary, just waiting for
the result, like what if, then it's just
like that anticipation of waiting for
that text"
ABOUT:
MOTIVATIONS: FRUSTRATIONS:
IDEA EXPERIENCE/ GOALS:
• More updates and transparency with location of covid test results
• Tips online on how to help while awaiting covid test results
• Readily available information regarding rules, procedures and next steps
• Inconsistent waiting periods of covid test results
• Not being contacted by NSW health with results
• Not enough information on resources to help
• Troublesome contacting NSW health
• Long wait times on call with NSW health
• He wants to limit spreading the virus in his
household & to peers so needs quick updates
• Await test results without a looming feeling of
anticipation and anxiety
Daniel lives in an apartment in Burwood with his parents and cat. He currently works part time as a
photography travelling to various venues and studies Engineering at the University on Campus. He is
extremely busy as he has too balance work, with his studies and social life which he values. During the
pandemic he started showing symptoms of COVID-19 and had to get tested as a precaution living in an LGA.
27. EXISTING PROCESS
person
showing
symptoms
gets tested
for covid
gets text
from NSW
Health
friends/family
are a contact
to covid
wait 24 - 72 days
to gets results
text of
negative results
No results
provided
NSW health calls
for positive results
Contact
NSW health
Find number
of clinic
Call
for results
gets call
from NSW
Health
boss from
workplace
tells you too
seeing case
list
of exposure
negative
result
Isolate if close/
casual contact
isolate up
to 14 days
no contact
opt into text
check ins
opt into phone
check ins
negative
mental health
wellbeing
deteriorates
feeling
loneliness
feeling
bored
needs financial
support
confused on
eligibility
overthinking
symptoms
can worsen
needs
information
google for
information
frustrated/doesn’t
access
look through NSW
health
finding contact
number
long
wait times
left
confused
See appendix for full image
28. REFLECTION
During my process of creating this research report I have learnt a lot about
approaching problems in a new way that isn’t solution oriented. I have been able
to challenge previous ways of how the normal standard of approaching problem
solving would be which is to look at it in what I have learnt now to be a
conventional manner.
In my first week I learnt it was important to not become fixated on several
problem I found in my research and to keep an open mind to be able to discover
and understand new problems, which is a common bias for designers.
In my second week, I learnt the important of working with a team with various
strengths yet common interests so that we could come together and work and
provide new perspectives to our group. I also learnt to go back and remind myself
of the design methodology from previous courses as I was getting confused
between research and analysis methods.
In weeks 4 and 5 it got a bit more stressful with more heavy and time-consuming
research. Despite splitting interviews across my team, I found myself attending
them as well and I definitely, could have eased and prioritized other tasks if I
asked my team mates to carry my interview questions for me when we used the
same participants.
For my questionnaire, it had a few repetitive questions and in future I would test it
more with a few pilot participants to cut out questions and make them more
easily understood (for example – what resources do you feel like you’re entitled
too.) I also should spend more time analysing the raw data to understand and find
more correlations and should familiarize myself with basic statistics to help me
with this. I did attempt to do this and gained a great understanding of how
quantitative data can contribute to qualitative data.
The thematic analysis was extremely time consuming, and I have come up with a
set method of how I would approach this in the future, and I found myself going
back and forth between trying how to lay it all out or which software to use. I used
excel and miro but I should have chosen one – in future I would only use excel as it
has automatic sorting capacity with the pivot tables which allowed me to save
more time in sorting out and grouping codes. I should also in the future simply
the first set of codes in other to group them better and I ended up mixing this
with the step after and had to come back and repeat this to refine it – which could
have contributed to a more refined analysis anyway.
For the online ethnography, I should look at more platforms. A huge place I have
discovered where many people are sharing opinions would be in the comments
on Instagram news sites, tiktok videos and youtube videos documenting their
experiences.
It was extremely hard to reach COVID positive individuals and schedule times
with them for interviews due to the anonymity and sensitivity of the topic. In
future I should account for this or locate better methods of reaching them or
tailoring my research to account for this.
I struggling with the reframing section at the start, and I felt like I was still stuck
on certain ideas – so I had to take a few days off and refresh my brain and reread
the lectures and readings in order to conduct the reframing. I felt like I was able to
achieve good frames that will help me in the next assignment.
Overall, I learnt a lot and was able to engage with the user and have identified
many gaps, limitations and frustrations that I hope to address.
29. REFERENCES
All creative common images have been sourced by Unsplash , Pexels. Flaticon, miro
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2021). Mental health services in Australia. Retrieved from https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/mental-
health-services/mental-health-services-in-australia/report-contents/mental-health-impact-of-covid-19
Bablini, L., Blakely, T. (2021). The strength of Sydney's lockdown is crucial over the next 100 days.
Retrieved from https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/the-strength-of-sydney-s-lockdown-is-crucial-over-the-next-100-days
Dorst, K. (2015). Frame innovation: Create new thinking by design. MIT press.
Heffernan, T. (2021). Lockdown, quarantine and self-isolation: how different COVID restrictions affect our mental health.
Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/lockdown-quarantine-and-self-isolation-how-different-covid-restrictions-affect-our-mental-health-
153595
Landau, S. (2021). Contact-tracing apps have serious physical, biological limitations. Retrieved from https://bigthink.com/the-present/contact-
tracing-apps-have-serious-physical-biological-limitations/
Schimmenti, A., Billieux, J., & Starcevic, V. (2020). The four horsemen of fear: An integrated model of understanding fear experiences during the
COVID-19 pandemic. Clinical Neuropsychiatry: Journal of Treatment Evaluation, 17(2), 41–45.
Stephenson, H. (2021). Designing Better Contact-Tracing Apps for the Next Pandemic. Retrieved from https://now.tufts.edu/articles/designing-
better-contact-tracing-apps-next-pandemic
Woodley, M. (2020). 'Dr Google' wrong more often than not. Retrieved from https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/professional/dr-google-wrong-more-
often-than-not
World Health Organization. (2021). Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Retrieved from https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus#tab=tab_1
30. APPENDIX
Questionnaire responses can be viewed at:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mT8dyYnT2i31MY2xkBG71RjiUlDnv1qh/view?usp=sharing
Questionnaire can be viewed at:
https://bitly.com/covidsvas7415
34. APPENDIX
Full FLOW can be found here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b9bz5LNOdtveZgFILS5NVTBzUiJ_bEX-/view?usp=sharing
person
showing
symptoms
gets tested
for covid
gets text
from NSW
Health
friends/family
are a contact
to covid
wait 24 - 72 days
to gets results
text of
negative results
No results
provided
NSW health calls
for positive results
Contact
NSW health
Find number
of clinic
Call
for results
gets call
from NSW
Health
boss from
workplace
tells you too
seeing case
list
of exposure
negative
result
Isolate if close/
casual contact
isolate up
to 14 days
no contact
opt into text
check ins
opt into phone
check ins
negative
mental health
wellbeing
deteriorates
feeling
loneliness
feeling
bored
needs financial
support
confused on
eligibility
overthinking
symptoms
can worsen
needs
information
google for
information
frustrated/doesn’t
access
look through NSW
health
finding contact
number
long
wait times
left
confused
