I made this preliminary healthcare journey map to summarise the common difficulties experienced by older adults in China when accessing healthcare. Based on three elderly interviews, one doctor interview and a small intervention, the map traces the journey from feeling unwell, finding hospital information and making an appointment, to navigating the hospital, communicating with doctors, receiving treatment and managing follow-up care. It also highlights the digital tools, family members and other forms of support involved at different stages.
This mapping has also made me reconsider my initial assumption that the problem should be solved mainly through a digital product or app. The difficulties I identified are not only related to digital literacy, but also to hospital navigation, communication, waiting, information, and the availability of human support. Therefore, I am now exploring whether a combination of digital and human-centred solutions could provide more effective support for older adults, rather than focusing only on designing another digital tool.
Maybe my research questions can be gradually biased to
“How can we make the Chinese healthcare journey more understandable and navigable for older adults?”
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