helloan introduction to hellosmile

Sunnyside Queens• Described as “up & coming”

• Residential, middle-class, lower-middle -class population and all ranges to poor and poverty-stricken population

• Local businesses include: nail salons, restaurants and fast-food shops, ethnic cuisine stores, a funeral home, and convenience stores and pharmacies

hellosmile• Want to get the whole family on board with healthy living

• Work in poor neighborhoods, believing in serving the underprivileged and often ignored

• Majority of the patients’ appointments are paid by Medicaid

Problem• Only 20% of patients return for a checkup appointment

• How do we get the parents to bring their children (focusing on ages 0-6) in for appointments?

• How do we get parents and kids to improve their health practices at home (particularly brushing teeth)?

Methodshow i researched hellosmile

TOUCH POINT ACTIVITY ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION OBJECT USERS

Outreach

Phone Call

Enter Clinic

Forms

Passport/InfoCostume change?

x-ray in chair or floatingChair

Assessment/Needs

Prize/Reward

Farewell

At Home

Intro to characters:storytellinggamessongs

Schools/ClassroomsDaycareHubsFairs

Call and responseQuestionsStorytellingCheck-up

storybookpuppetsequipmenttakeaway/toys

kids 0-6hellosmile outreach repscare giversteachers

walking in/check inplay learn wait

waiting room-intro to characterswallstoys exterior of building

playing in play areaparent check -in

toys in play spacechairs front desk computer waiting room materials for parents

parents/kids/receptionistother people in waititng room kids leaving clinic (other kids see positive experience)

parents filling out form kids form

waiting room/ treatment room receptionist giving parent formconvo with assistant

formsmarkersillustrations

parents/ caregiverassistant/receptionistdentist

explanation giving passport

lobby when called to come back to clinic treatment area

assistant giving passport to kid/parent passport and holderillustrationsnarrative

assistantkid/ parent

hop in chair clinic spacewalls ceiling (games/ graphics)

bib placed on kidput pillow pet under legs

chair bibpillow pet

kid/ assistantparent

assesment of mouth clinic room wallsceiling

sunglasses on when light comes downassistant/doctor looks in mouth games (distraction games)

toolslightsgames- puppetsvideo sunglasses

kidassistantdentistparent

stamp passportget reward

clinic room drawercabinet

explain why they did goodexplain stamp in passportgive rewardgive raffle ticket

stamps for passportstickerstoys/ balloonsstory book/ continuing activityhealth kit/ toothbrush

kidassistantparent

make next apptgood bye

front desk doorlobbyexterior of building hallway outside of clinic

raffle ticket in raffle boxreminder card for next apptquestions

raffle boxappt reminder card

kidreceptionistparentkids in waiting room vs. kid finishng appt.

brush teeth 2 time a day home bathroom bedroom school friends/family’s house

fill out: activity book/ coloring book/ story bookcheck in phone dialogue with parentstoothbrush

activity book/coloring book/story booktoy puppethealthkit/toothbrush

kids/sibling parentsreceptionist

CATWOE

C - Clients:The clients are 1) the children that hellosmile staff serve, and 2) the parents of the children that hellosmile serves.

A - Actors:hellosmile staff secretaries, technicians, dentists, doctors, designers (on occasion) and administrators.

T - Transformation:In the literal sense: children’s teeth are transformed, cavities are filled, and parents are advised as to how to change their at-home health practices. Overall the hellosmile clinics aim to transform how low-income families view and value positive health practices, encouraging an interest and investment in holistic health. For the purposes of this project, I am transforming the experience at hellosmile to incentivize parents and children to keep up with their health and their hellosmile appointments. This means understanding that we need to create monetary incentives for parents, and at-home helping elements for children.

W - World View:The goal of hellosmile is simply to make the World a happier, healthier place through positive relationships and care for the larger community’s health (emotional, mental, and physical health). By encouraging compassion and understanding for the importance of good health within the greater community, we no longer are putting a band-aid on a problem, but teaching an under-served group to help themselves and advocate for the prioritization of their own health and well-being. A disadvantaged group may lack the resources of the wealthy, but with knowledge and a sincere interest in a healthy life, hellosmile will guide them towards a healthier and happier lifestyle.

O - Owners:Those who literally own hellosmile are Ali and Farhad, brothers and founders. The customers, the patients and parents, have some “ownership” over their experience as can leave and terminate their relationship with hellosmile at any time, though this would be to the detriment of their health.

E - Environment:The environment is the hellosmile clinic, in various outer borough locations. The limitations of this environment are that the patients and families are only in the clinic for a limited time, and the majority of their health maintenance happens in the home. To combat this we are creating several take-home items to encourage tooth brushing and consciousness of good health choices outside of the hellosmile clinic.

hellosmilesta�

children

�rst visit second visitoutreach

good checkup

good

che

ckup

Incentive Key

dental kit

passpoint stamp given

Sta� call the home to check up on patient progressbetween 1-3 months after adental checkup.

Sta� call the parents to remind them of an upcoming procedureappointment 2 days beforeprocedure.

Sta� call the home to remind parents of the outreach and encourage them to make an appointment soon after the school outreach.

Sta� call the parentsto remind them of anupcoming appontment1 day before appointment.

(6 months between visits)

bad checkup

bad

chec

kup

2 stamps if youhave a good visit

2nd stamp if youare having a procedure

3rd stamp, get ticket towin a Wii in a ra�e�rst passport

(2-3 weeks between visit & procedure)

parents*

procedure

*** *

1 2

&

good checkup

bad checkup

hellosmile journey mapinteractions between patients, families, and hellosmile sta�March 2011

*

p

p

p 1 stamp for abad visit

*p

p p&

(repeat the sameactions for either

bad or good checkups)

PEST Analysis:

P oliticalThe political environment surrounding hellosmile is one of conscious disapproval of the government’s handling of certain health issues, and yet appreciation for the funding that is received by hellosmile and their patients. The vast majority of hellosmile’s patients’ visits are funded by Medicaid, which is a wonderful support to these families. However, with “No Child Left Behind” and a tightening of the early education curriculum, health practices are almost never discussed in school, thus leaving education up to the parents alone. Hellosmile notices this disparity in education and does workshops to educate children and puts a good amount of their assets into teaching the parents to teach their kids healthy practices. It is assumed from local signage and the socio-economic status and race of most of the community that the vast majority vote Democratic, if at all.

EconomicThe economic environment surrounding hellosmile is struggling, as all of the patients and their families live in low-income areas, and the majority only get health care through Medicaid. While hellosmile has sufficient startup funds, and is prioritizing design, as an organization it cannot be fiscally wasteful in its decision-making. Money is a huge incentive for the hellosmile patient population, and this has been carefully considered in the design of reward and incentive programs.

SocialThe social environment is a melting pot of sorts. Spanish is spoken just as, if not more so, frequently than English in much of these neighborhoods where hellosmile holds their clinic. The staff is extremely diverse, and languages from Farsi to Spanish can be heard around the office, and all but one staff member are bilingual. Nearby food shops cater to a Mediterranean and Middle Eastern clientele, and fast food stores serve food with Spanish and Mexican influences. Political leanings are not out-front in these neighborhoods, though old Obama stickers remain on cars. One could assume that the majority of the population is Democratic ifthey are legally registered to vote, simply from the diverse, International and low-income qualities of the neighborhood. However, a presence of Churches may indicate a social conservatism which could lead to lower abortion rates and pregnancy-prevention in the area, thus leading to a higher birth rate for young mothers, reflected in the children in the hellosmile clinics.

TechnologyThe technology directly within the hellosmile environment is very much up to date. The customers of hellosmile, however, do not benefit from the financial comfort necessary to stay at the cutting edge of technology at home. Most all of the patients and their families own cell phones, and this has drawn the founders and designers at hellosmile to conceptualize a process of texting appointment reminders to families. In the meantime, however, technology remains strongest for the care-providers, not the recipients. This technology gap may explain why a website has been a lower priority for the clinic, and the in-clinic experience (the design and cleanliness of the space) is considered to be a very high priority.

Incentivesthe final incentive intervention for hellosmile

we bring you customers

you help keep our community

healthy

our patientscome in fora checkup

with their child& receive a coupon

to your store

directly after their child’s checkup

parents go to yourstore and put the coupon towards alarger purchase of

groceries

Our incentive coupons help us motivate Moms to come in for their child’sdentist appointment and direct them to your store afterwards

• we want to encourage patients and their parents to keep appointments at hellosmile• the vast majority of our young patients come in with their mothers• in our community mothers do the grocery shopping in the family

• we expect in a 1 month trial to have 2,000 patients come in for appointments and want to use the free coupons they receive for keeping their dental appointment.

= an added 2,000 customers shopping at your store

hellosmile clinic

yourstore

&

Research has shown that by offering patients and their parents a cash incen-tive, or a coupon for something they buy anyway, patients keep and con-tinue to come in for their appoint-ments.

We at hellosmile want to team up with you to keep our community healthy, and to direct our business towards a store with our same good health values.

why partner up with hellosmile?

$$

$$

$hel losmi le coupons How it works:You pay for a large portion of

2,000 coupons that we will give to parents who show up for their

child’s appointment, and they bring it into your local store to

put it towards a larger purchase.

incentive offers:

Produce or Fruit of the Month

Smaller cash incentive/coupon

$5 cash incentive/coupon

Nail care for Moms

Corporate Collaboration

A $5 coupon to put towards food nearby the local health clinic.

Rather than $5, offer $2 or $3, split with the local grocery. They would contribute half the cost, $1 or $1.50, and hellosmile would cover the other half.

“Produce of the month” is a partnership in which a hellosmile receipt or coupon from a recent dental checkup can be used to retrieve the fruit or produce of the month at a local grocery. The grocery will choose either a fruit or vegetable to provide a free to hellosmile patients.

Because the majority of family members accompanying children into hellosmile for checkups are women, offering a nail polish bottle or free manicure coupon at a local salon would be an effective incentive for Moms-only. It is expected that as a luxury and unnecessary purchase, nail salons will be more eager to have regular clients from hellosmile, unlike grocery stores which are necessary centers in the neighborhood.

Partnering with a singular corporation would allow for cross-promotion. Kashi (for example) would fit the values of hellosmile, and might be able to provide samples to send Moms home with after each checkup.

$$

$$

$

$$

$$

$

Option 1 Option 2Dentists at hellosmile liked this option because chewing foods like granola (not sugar-filled snacks) is good for the teeth. The extra chewing required by grain-heavy, granola-like foods such as the ones Kashi makes is good for growing teeth, and thus this is a perfect match health-wise. The values of Kashi also overlap with many of the values of hellosmile.

Partnering with a singular corporation would allow for cross-promotion. Kashi (for example) could provide samples to send Moms home with after each checkup. This would require zero spending on hellosmile’s part, so long as they promote Kashi, who would be reaching a different market than they usually appeal to through the clinic.

Families at the dental clinics were excited by one suggestion to offer free admission to a local museum or zoo. This fits in with hellosmile’s values as it gets families to go out and be active together. The clinic initially wanted to involve local businesses such as supermarkets, and while the Museum hellosmile partners with may not be exactly local, it will be part of the greater New York area.

admitone

While the New York City zoos are money-seeking and are more private Capitalist ventures, several employees from the Museum of Natural History and the Queens Science Museum expressed a sincere belief that the Museums would want to be a part of incentivizing young children to brush their teeth.

A jump rope giveaway after a patient’s first visit, fitting with hellosmile’s intentions to promote sustainable products, and promote healthy living through preventative care, health and fitness.

goodbyesmilea service design exploration by emily sappington