Designing HepCare App: Promoting Hepatitis Prevention and Awareness in Bangladesh
Mst. Shikha Khatun, Anikah Hossain, Sumaiya Akter, Md Abu Sayed, Ashraful Islam, M. Ashraful Amin
Human-Centered Design, Operation and Evaluation of Mobile Communications
Springer Nature Switzerland, pp. 300–318, ISBN: 978-3-031-93061-4
Abstract
Hepatitis remains a major public health concern in Bangladesh due to a lack of awareness, inadequate access to healthcare, and low vaccination rates. In response to these challenges, the `HepCare' app has been designed, aiming to promote hepatitis prevention and awareness across Bangladesh. The app is expected to play a crucial role in reducing the country's high rates of viral hepatitis. The User-Centered Design (UCD) methodology is used in this study to create a mobile health (mHealth) application (app) `HepCare' that is tailored specifically for Bangladeshi people. The `HepCare' app seeks to offer comprehensive information on any type of hepatitis, including prevention techniques, and modes of transmission. So the research objectives include conducting a needfinding analysis and developing low and high-fidelity prototypes of the `HepCare' app. Key functionalities of the `HepCare' app include ``About the Types of Hepatitis'', ``Prevention Guidelines From Online Resources'', ``People at Risk'', ``Chatbox'', ``Guidelines for Living With Hepatitis'', ``Symptoms Tracker'', ``Medication Reminder'', ``Doctor's Appointment Reminder'', ``Pregnancy and Hepatitis'', and ``Advertisement and Awareness''. Interactive elements, like ``Chatbox'', encourage participation and lessen stigma. Moreover, 91.2% of participants expressed willingness to use and recommend the `HepCare' app during a user study. The user-friendly design of the high-fidelity prototype ensures intuitive interaction, becoming a vital resource in the fight against hepatitis in Bangladesh, empowering individuals with the information and resources.