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Notice

November 27, 2014

To improve urban health, the team proposed offering a two-pronged service that will first do an online risk assessment and then send an STI testing kit for in-home use.

Assignment

Create a design for a new service that generates revenue and evolves with the user over time.

Synopsis

Notice is a new service and solution for testing sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in your own home. To improve urban health, the team proposed offering a two-pronged service that will first do an online risk assessment and then send an STI testing kit for in-home use. The target population is women in Cook County who think they may have one or more STI.

The conventional approaches to lower transmission rates are to educate in the school system and to promote the use of physical barriers, such as condoms. Our approach, however, enables individuals to learn their personal sexual health status and thus make informed decisions for practicing safer sex in their community.

Problem

According to the CDC, there were 91,350 cases of STIs in 2013. One-third of these people do not know they are carrying an infection. In 2013 alone, there were a total of 40,590 cases for gonorrhea and chlamydia. In the CDC’s Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 2013, Cook County, Illinois, ranked as the second highest county in the United States for cases and transmission rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis.

Through the team’s research, it became evident that fear and shame were major barriers to getting tested. Rather than going to a clinic, many self-diagnose by searching online, become overwhelmed, and do not get definitive answers.

Proposed User Experience

The concept is to develop an STI testing kit for high-risk individuals to use at home, affording them to conveniently get results without the fear of being ashamed. Our solution gives clear answers with tailored information that provides peace of mind.

This is a really great example of thinking through a very compelling solution to a sensitive topic.
—Core77 Design Awards Jury

Faculty

  • April Starr

Students

Betina De Gorordo Bolado
Karolina Kohler
Amanda Rosenberg
Ariana Shadlyn

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