Medaphor
Medaphor is a heart health app specialized for women to raise awareness and educate users about heart disease. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States but remains largely misunderstood by women and the healthcare field due to atypical female symptoms that aren’t fully researched, a lack of women in medical studies, and an unconscious bias by healthcare providers.
Through creating a space for emerging medical research, Medaphor:
- aids communication between patient and doctor.
- contributes to women's cardiovascular research.
- empowers greater self-care for users through mutual community support and sharing.
Problem #1: Women have atypical symptoms
Heart disease is the number one killer for women in America, yet many medical professionals and patients aren't aware of the common atypical symptoms women's bodies may represent.
Many women don't experience chest pain.
Why?
Problem #2: The medical community doesn't know enough
This is because historically, clinical trials were based on male subjects and the results were assumed to be the same for females. Now, the medical community is more aware of how sex affects how symptoms and diseases are manifested. This leads to a large missing gap in understanding women's bodies and a need for more research to understand women's biology.
Problem #3: The medical community is biased
From most medical knowledge being of male biology, there's a lack of understanding of women biology. This leads to many women receiving less than optimal treatment such as getting less pain medication than men, and not being believed by medical professionals of what they're experiencing.
Solution
- Improve how doctors and patients communicate to allow for more understanding of what women's bodies experience.
- Collect information on what women experience into a database to provide context that educates doctors and patients on the atypical symptoms.
- Create a community for women to connect with other women to learn from each other's stories, provide support, and spread awareness of how heart disease can manifest and affect women.
How Medaphor Works
Watch How Medaphor Works
3 minute videoProject Book PDF
How Medaphor came to beMedaphor was created from plenty of research on the user - women who've experienced heart disease. What I found was a thriving community interacting, sharing information and experiences to help others. Those women shared their stories in hopes of other's finding it. This is what I hope to capture in a database. To inform doctors of related case studies to have more context of what the patient's possible severity may be, and to connect patients with a supportive community.
Medaphor_projectbook_JasmineYee_SCEwebsite2.pdfJasmine Yee
Hi,
I'm a product designer from Brooklyn, NY.
My work investigates the intersection between physical and digital products and aims to be beneficial, educational, and impactful through a user-experience lens.
An ENTJ personality type, lover of bees, and avid rock climber.
Please feel free to connect, or just say hello!
