MASTHEAD BRAS
Easing Recovery
Company
Role
Team
Product Designer
Researcher
UX Researchers
Product Designers
About Masthead
Masthead Bras creates bras for those who have undergone surgeries such as breast surgery or chest surgery, and therefore need a specially-designed bra for recovery. A key component of Masthead’s bras is a drain management system comprised of loops, ribbons, and side openings that allow the user to use a post-surgery drain. The core values of Masthead are to provide patients with “comfort, support, and dignity”.
This project was completed as part of a class assignment at Carnegie Mellon University. Masthead Bras was not involved with the project and does not have access to the designs from this project.
The Challenge
INSIGHT 1
More than just a cis-woman issue
INSIGHT 2
An (unnecessarily) Arduous Recovery
INSIGHT 3
Patients recovering from chest surgery struggle with the tedious recovery process, sometimes needing to record drainage amounts and other health information more than four times a day. Additionally, given the marginalized identities some users hold, many may not have caretakers who can help them stay on track with their recovery and drain records, making their recovery process all the more difficult.
Isolation and Seeking Online Community
Contrary to popular belief, chest surgery is not an issue only impacting cis women. Post-surgery bra companies like Masthead Bras among others portray chest surgery recovery patients in bright-pink, ultra-feminine marketing, implying that only women are impacted by the need to recover from chest surgery. This form of marketing alienates men, trans folks, and others who may come to need post-surgery bras after various forms of upper body surgery.
Many patients who are about to undergo or who have undergone surgery struggle with feelings of isolation and stress about their procedure. They have questions and concerns about their health that are not always able to be met by their healthcare professionals and therefore turn to online communities or medical websites to seek answers and comfort.
Research
Assumption Reversal
Our team set out to begin the research process by conducting an assumption reversal activity in order to recognize any preconceptions we had about chest surgery patients and their recovery, as well as begin to brainstorm areas in which our product could benefit them. A result of the activity was recognizing that a wide range of individuals experience chest surgery and may consequently be prescribed a surgical bra by their doctor.
Several major categories of users who may require post-surgery bras include:
Cis or trans cancer patients
Trans patients who have had top surgery
Men who have had cancer
Open heart surgery patients
Background Research
We conducted desk research on both the logistics of recovery and patients’ emotional states throughout. We learned that patients recovering from chest surgery struggle with the tedious recovery process, sometimes needing to record drainage amounts and other health information more than four times per day. Patients are typically given sheets of paper to take home and fill out – an outdated method that could benefit from the many capabilities a mobile interface would offer. Add onto that the other struggles that surgery recovery brings and patients are met with unnecessary cognitive and physical load.
Additionally, we learned that many surgery patients struggle with feelings of isolation and stress before and after their procedure. They have questions and concerns about their health that are not always met by their healthcare professionals and therefore turn to online communities or medical websites to seek answers and comfort. Some platforms, like Reddit and Facebook, already have pockets of community for those experiencing or recovering from surgery. However, patients may be wary of the advice from such platforms as they are not moderated and patients have no way of verifying if those communicating with them are truthful about their experiences. Moreover, with studies showing the importance of social support in surgery recovery, it is important that patients feel a sense of community.
“Patients who have social support recover faster and better".”
— J Kulik, H Mahler (1989)
User Interviews
We sat down with individuals who have experienced major surgery such as chest surgery and their loved ones to understand their recovery process better. Users expressed feeling immense anxiety before the operation, primarily due to uncertainty about what the process would look like. Users overwhelmingly attributed their successful recovery to care from their loved ones, as well as lamented about the frustrations of recovery logistics such as the drain log system.
“If I didn’t have [his support] it would have been a hundred times harder. We are lucky we could both take time off so he could be at home with me.”
— Participant
“I would constantly forget because when you’re in recovery you are resting or sleeping a lot. I eventually had to resort to having multiple alarms set for each drain logging so I wouldn’t miss any.”
— Participant
Journey Mapping
We then mapped out a journey our users would follow, from before to after surgery. This helped us to systematically lay out each step our users have to take as well as areas of opportunity for our product to support the user.
We realized that the biggest area users need support is in recovery (ie. drain logging) as well as education regarding recovery pre- and post-op.
Ideation
To alleviate the mental load of a patient, our team set out to design an intuitive and comprehensive drain log that would not only replace traditional pen-and-paper logging but also add significant value to the recovery process.
Taking into account the fact that caretakers may also want to use the app to learn and help with drain logging, we explored the idea of having the app allow for multi-user input.
In hopes of empowering patients with knowledge and reduce their anxiety, we began wireframing ways to deliver educational information for patients to peruse both pre- and post-op.
Validation Sessions
Many participants shared they felt that educational content would be beneficial to the product as they experienced a lot of health anxiety before and after their surgeries.
One participant specifically shared how having to manage a physical/pen-and-paper drain log was especially tedious, and they felt that having a digital drain log would be valuable.
“I had a lot of fear before the surgery. I really wanted to hear from others who had experienced the same surgery so I could figure out exactly what was going to happen. I also felt like I didn’t have that much time to ask the doctor about it, nor did I want to bother her with lots of questions.”
— Participant
“I like the idea of being able to get notifications when it’s time to log, as well as the idea of having someone who’s taking care of me do it on my behalf when I’m too tired.”
— Participant
With valuable feedback from users, we set out to design a mobile service application that would not only help users meet the minimum requirements of recovery but go above and beyond by being educational, inclusive, and community-driven.
Final Design
Onboarding
The onboarding portion of the app is a crucial introduction that collects necessary information from the user for the app to populate correctly. Since some users may have caretakers who also contribute data to their drain log and view the educational content on the app, the app must collect this information so that the two users’ data are linked and allow for multiple sources of input.
The onboarding process ends with several recommended first steps to alleviate the stress of learning a new app and guide users towards necessary features.
Drain Log
The drain log is the flagship and most frequented feature, and it lives front and center on the app. This drain log goes beyond the capabilities of pen-and-paper by capturing other symptoms, utilizing nudges, and creating insights to share with medical providers. A key capability of the app’s drain log is the use of augmented reality to capture the volume in drains. The AR drain capture function allows for more convenient and potentially more precise readings of drain volume.
Another way our drain log goes beyond pen-and-paper drain logs is the ability to capture other essential symptoms, such as body temperature, pain levels, mood, and more. These symptoms are just as crucial to measuring recovery yet are often difficult to recall during follow-up appointments. Having a fuller picture of the patient's symptoms throughout recovery provides doctors a better understanding of how the patient is doing and allows for more patient self advocacy.
Also crucial to the drain log page is the analysis feature. Being able to extrapolate data helps the patient more comprehensively visualize their recovery and more easily share their information with medical providers. This could reduce the need for the extra step of data entry when using pen-and-paper drain logs. The analysis also allows the patient to visualize their other symptoms and the color variation in their drains.
Educational Content + Community
The content section exists for users to view a repository of information relevant to their recovery such as typical drainage amounts, expected symptoms, and more. All of the content is pulled from published online articles such as the Mayo Clinic, and its aim is to alleviate the reliance on platforms such as Reddit or Facebook, where the information does not necessarily come from a medically-verified source.
Users have the option to join clubs such as "Transgender Voices”, “Breast Cancer Survivors”, and “Men’s Breast Cancer”. These clubs have moderators who select a story each month for the group to read together and discuss, as well as monitor the comments and discussions. These clubs are sources of community for patients before and after their surgeries, and can be used and accessed even years after a surgery is complete.
Outcomes
DESIRED OUTCOME 1
Nudging and an intuitive product encourage habit formation in patients.
DESIRED OUTCOME 2
Patients’ feelings of isolation and uncertainty are reduced.
Especially for those patients whose families are unable to take care of them, having a vibrant online community allows them to connect with others and seek reassurance.
An important component in habit formation is in an app’s ability to nudge users to complete a desirable behavior. In something as repetitive as drain logging, where users have to measure their drain volumes upwards of four times a day for several weeks, it is crucial that notifications, rewarding animations, and visualizations of progress encourage frequent and timely use of the app.