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VR:Eva
A virtual reality game that educates the player on the best way to respond to behavioral changes in a birth giver experiencing perinatal mental health issues and how to support them through that journey.
Project
Client: Eli Lilly & Co.
Capstone Project for MS-HCI
My Role
Product Designer, VR Designer
Team
4 HCI students
1 medical expert (NICU nurse)
3 mentors from Eli Lilly
Duration
Aug 2022 - Apr 2023
Overview
Client Brief.
Explore emerging technologies like virtual reality that can help in addressing mental health disorders in birth givers, identify an area of design intervention and design a VR-experience that empowers birth givers and their families.
My Contributions.
The project was inspired by VRinda, a gamified VR experience I designed to simulate the experience of birth givers going through postpartum obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
01
Successfully pitched the project idea to Eli Lilly and our medical expert, securing their partnership as industry partners.
02
Contributed to the research process by recruiting participants, conducting interviews, and synthesizing data.
03
Made design contributions such as sketching UI assets and designing the 3D environment and assets.
Background.
Birth givers go through tremendous physical, chemical and emotional changes during the period of pregnancy and postpartum (collectively called the 'perinatal' period), with 80% experiencing 'baby blues'.
For many of them, the baby blues evolve into more serious perinatal mood & anxiety disorders (PMAD) that include but are not limited to postpartum depression, anxiety, OCD and in some extreme cases, psychosis.
Design Process.
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Understanding the problem space
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Interviews with PMAD patients & SMEs
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Analyzing collected data using Affinity Mapping & Environmental Analysis
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PMAD workshops & training
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Persona synthesis
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Prototype UI & asset sketches
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Collaborative Story-writing
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Participatory design & Validation with users
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2D assets design
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3D environment design
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Video Demo
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Final Presentation
Discover
Research Insights.
01
The experience of going through perinatal mood & anxiety disorders (PMAD) is unique for everyone & simply knowing that PMAD exists is not enough to combat or mitigate it.
02
The biggest gap lies between the birth giver starting to exhibit signs of PMAD to the time it is recognized and effective actions are taken to start diagnosis/ treatment.
03
The support system of the birth giver (family & friends) is the most effective user channel to reduce this gap between recognition and action for PMAD in birth givers, but they lack awareness.
Our User
Meet Sam: the birth giver's close friend.
Why a friend?
The friend knows the birth giver well enough to spot behavioral changes, while also being able to provide help from an outside perspective.
What are Sam's goals?
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Learning how to detect signs & symptoms at an early stage by learning how to communicate effectively with their friend.
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Knowing what relevant steps to take once PMAD signs are identified.
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Providing tangible & emotional support to their friend, the birth giver.
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Sam's Pain Points.
01
They lack the understanding of what PMAD looks & feels like.
"I can sense my friend's behavior is different than usual, but I don't know what is going on with her!"
02
They are unable to identify signs or classify symptoms as being related to PMAD.
"My friend is much more irritable and at time severely anxious since the birth of their child, I am not able to tell if she is experiencing some mental health issues or if it is normal after childbirth?"
03
They need actionable steps to support moms showing PMAD symptoms.
"I can see that my friend is struggling terribly, but I do not know how to help her during this time!"
Problem Statement
The Challenge.
How might we help close friends and family identify and act on PMAD-related behavioral changes in a birth giver?
Design & Deliver
Solution.
The virtual reality experience 'VR:Eva' is a game-mediated platform that equips the support system of birth givers with the knowledge to identify PMAD based on behavioral changes and learn relevant actionable steps.
Impact & Next Steps
We were able to successfully deliver a proof of concept, mid-fidelity video demonstration of the VR solution. We won the 'best VR project' award for Indiana University's Luddy School Capstone Showcase 2023.
The game can be expanded to cover a wider variety of situations and complexities. I envision this educational VR experience being offered by the perinatal community to individuals around birthing parents worldwide, with the goal of mitigating PMAD in a timely manner.
Reflection
Learnings
This project gave me an opportunity to hone my UX design and research skills and explore game-based education for behavioral healthcare through storytelling. I thoroughly enjoyed exploring VR game design and developing my knowledge base about perinatal mood & anxiety disorders (PMAD).