Got Your Back
A mobile app
Scoliosis is an abnormal lateral curvature of the spine that affects roughly 2-3 percent of the population.
Patients undergo unique treatment plans that can include regular x-rays, bracing, invasive surgery, and physiotherapy. Got Your Back is a mobile app that looks to address problems associated with scoliosis. As an individual who grew up with scoliosis, this is a project and a user group that is close to my heart.
The Challenge
Scoliosis is diagnosed in adolescence, typically between ages 9 and 15. This is a formative time in a child’s development of self image.
Patients with scoliosis are at risk of developing a negative self image, and negative patient experience as a result of their curvature and treatment. A patient’s self worth is often associated with their curvature. As a curve rarely improves without surgical treatment, patients are often receiving input that they are doing worse and worse.
The approach
10 scoliosis patients and 20 adolescent habit-changing app users were interviewed.
Scoliosis patients were asked to recount their patient experiences, and describe their thoughts and feelings with regard to their treatment. Adolescent app users were interviewed to discern what was effective in changing attitudes and behaviours in their day to day life.
The app transformed through a process of sketch to wireframe to prototyping with user testing along the way.
The solution
A mobile app that gamifies the patient experience to change their perspective from a victim to a warrior.
Patients connect to the app through a personalized character profile. They set goals and earn badges based on completion of their treatment such that their validation and worth is connected to adhering to their treatment plan instead of the progression of their curvature.
Change the perception of the patient.
Users create a personalized warrior character, adding an element of fun and mimicking leisurely gameplay.
Track progress and provide rewards
Users set their own goals and rewards. They are responsible for tracking completion of each goal in order to earn badges. Accumulation of badges allows users to see their progress and improvement. This empowers users to take ownership of their health instead of allowing their curvature to dictate their improvement.
Provide motivational success stories
App users expressed a desire to see the accomplishments of others to inspire their own possibilities. There are many accomplished individuals that the public may be surprised to learn, have scoliosis. The app aims to bring these stories to users’ attention to show what they too can achieve, and to create a global community of individuals with scoliosis.
Employ humour
Our research indicated that humour and visuals shape youth engagement. In a culture driven by memes, fun graphics was a big user ask. On opening the app, users are greeted with a scoliosis meme of the day, pulled from social media. Additionally, all tasks are acknowledged by a nonsensical, but fun compliment.
Next Steps
The app continues to undergo testing and iterating towards improvement. The hope is for the app to become a platform for research wherein researchers could use Got Your Back to connect with patients matching their study. This will create sustainability for the app and address the larger problem space of improving scoliosis treatment.
